The things you own
by Cyber-Undead
Summary: Xover OOC. What if Shinji one night found an alley with a group of adults surrounding and cheering two men fighting?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion belongs to Gainax, ADV, Star Child, Movic, ING, and Dynamic. The Fight Club belongs to 20th Century Fox, Regency, and 1999 Fox. If legal representatives ask me to remove this from FanFiction, I shall do so. Also, if anyone wishes to copy something from here, he/she may do so after asking me for. Finally, this has been rated R for the fact that there will be Light Gore, almost minutely described and/or detailed, as well as various physical facts a tad bit too much pointed out. (Sorry, Lemons and Limes won't be appearing, only teasers at the most :)).

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AN: I've always loved the movie Fight Club, it's awesome really. However, sorry to disappoint any fans of the movie but Tyler Durden won't be appearing. This is really more of a Humour/Mischief fic, so expect some serious messed up events.

This starts shortly after the Tenth Angel...

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Cyber-Undead presents:

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**The things you own...**

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This is narrative.

"This is a dialogue."

"THIS IS SHOUTING."

'This is a quote/EMPHASIS made either during a dialogue or narrative.'

_These are thoughts._

**These are mouthed and facial expressions before, during, and after, a dialogue.**

This tells where and when the following happens.

(These will be Author Notes)

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"If you wake up in a different time, in a different place, could you wake up as a different person?"

-Tyler Durden

7:24 AM Katsuragi/Ikari/Sohryu residence 

"BAKA! GET UP AND MAKE ME SOME BREAKFAST NOW!" Such was the morning routine here: everyday, since the Second Child was transferred to NERV in Tokyo-3, she would rise, prepare her bath, check if the Third Child A.K.A. Spineless Hentai Baka was awake already and preparing 'HER' breakfast, take a bath, get dressed, shout at Shinji Ikari, eat, and leave for school. And shout some more, during the trek, at him...

Today, though, things seemed to be different: Shinji Ikari, the Third Child, Ruling Wimp, was not on his room. He wasn't either at the kitchen where she first checked, neither in the bathroom.

Fuming, she entered it and proceeded to see if he was hiding under the floorboards or in a drawer. The futons' sheets were all made, which meant he didn't spent most of the night here. His backpack was nowhere in sight too, so he already went to school. Actually, now that she thought about it, he, after making dinner and then washing the dishes, went out. She hadn't asked him where he was going – _Probably to go play voyeur with Wonder Girl_-, and she had stayed up watching soap operas 'till midnight, and he still hadn't gotten back. Twisting her nose, she thought of possibilities when she heard

"YEEEHAAAWWWW!!!" Slitting her eyes and forming a grin, she headed to the kitchen, where one major babe, wearing a loose tank top and shorts, was sitting, with an empty Yebisu can in front of her. If Shinji were to see this: a purple-haired goddess donning very revealing clothes, if one could call them such, with a tank top allowing any viewer a good glimpse of the bottom of her breasts, and the upper part as well since the tops' straps, not only were very thin, but the right-one was broken, which made the whole right side of the top to cover more of her belly than her bosom, along with her shorts which covered only six inches of her thighs, and only having the top-low button securing them along her waist, therefore also revealing the simple fact that she wasn't wearing any underwear; and a display of female human teenager physical perfection with only a red towel covering her, just barely since now it had slipped so most of her upper chest was in plain sight, along with a long crack of the towel in her upper right thigh, which showed a VERY good part of her right-side of the waist (1), he would surely have a heart attack (2). But he wasn't, so she asked, not politely

"Hey, where's the baka hentai?"

Misato looked at her, grabbed a second can, popped it open, and replied

"No idea. - She then proceeded to consume the alcoholic liquid in the can, in 'one swift stroke' – So, he's not on his room? **Chuckles** Maybe he got up really early because of you."

"As if you're any better. He could be lying dead in a gutter and you wouldn't know about it, until the Commander warned you that we would receive another Child!"

Misato stared at her, with a not-very-nice scowl.

**Humph** "Alright, I'll contact Section 2. **Grumbles** At least, you two will head to school..." And that's what Misato did; she grabbed her phone and dialled a number. Asuka, satisfied with her success in dominating the situation, went to the bathroom.

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25 Minutes Later 

Asuka exited her room, wearing her school uniform. She then wandered around the house, looking for Misato. She heard some panicked shouts from the balcony, and headed there. She found her, talking on her cell-phone, with a face etched with confusion. She then heard Misato saying she was going there to pick him up now. She lowered her cell, turned to Asuka, and said

"I'm off to the hospital to get Shinji. I'll then take him to school."

By the time Misato finished speaking, she was already outside, heading to the elevators. Asuka blinked, growled, and then headed to school.

Now everyone will say that Humans are the only species on this planet with a high IQ. This means that nobody would believe the fact that a warm-water penguin, which watched everything, shook his head several times, and entered his freezer muttering softly about the emotional ranting and mislead humans made all the time...

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45 Minutes Later 

_Boring... and fake. I'm seriously considering telling everybody the truth about the Second Impact. That should quiet that old teacher who's always rambling on and on about life before 2000..._ - Here, she turned her head towards the windows, at her left and a couple of seats backwards, making her look above her left shoulder-_ Even Wonder Girl is here... I wonder though, what happened to her to become a doll? ... Then again, it's best if I don't know... 'No questions asked, no questions made'..._

Then, faintly at first, Asuka heard what seemed to be hard tires screeching against the roads' pavement. Recognizing it immediately, she made a quick mental math equation predicting how many seconds it would take until a certain Blue Alpine would show up, just outside the school, most likely right in front of the gates, and drop the Pervert Stooge.

Counting down, with her palm outstretched right in front of her face, from four to none, with her fingers, along with silently mouthing it, she heard, not only an increase in volume of the tires which meant that she was approaching, rapidly, but also a very sudden stop, notifying her that the baka had just either broke his forehead against the glove compartment or went sailing through the front window and adorn the sidewalk.

She figured he would take 3,5 minutes to get to the classroom, so she started rehearsing a few lines to throw at him during lunch break.

It had been now almost ten minutes, and she was wondering what was taking him so long, when, suddenly, she heard the sliding door. What she saw, though, she wasn't expecting.

Shinji Ikari was standing there, wearing his school uniform. There were a few minor details about his condition that were... unusual. For starters, his clothes were wrinkled and severely stained, like as if he had been rolling on the floor repeatedly. His face, however, was in a worse condition. He had a large purple-bluish swelled bruise, covering his right upper side, starting underneath his right eye, and going to the middle of his right cheek. His left eyebrow was all covered in a bandage, that had a blood spot on its middle; and his left eye was slightly blooded, though such wasn't very easy to tell since his eyebrow bandage left his eye-socket shadowed. His lower lip had two cuts, close to one another, in the middle and right side of it, already crusted, and leaving his lips dry. His nose seemed a bit unlevelled, but maybe that was an illusion cast either by the bandage covering its middle or the heavily red-tinted nostrils. His shirt had its up most buttons loose, revealing his upper chest with a very light crimson tinge (3). He had been, most obviously for her, involved in a brutal fight. And he lost too; there was no doubt about that!

_As if that spineless baka could ever win a fight... Only on his precious Eva and he has to go berserk to win_...

Their professor saw him as well and politely asked

"What has happened to you, Ikari?"

He pivoted his head sideways and simply stated, with a mockingly serious face and tone

"I fell off the stairs."

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TBC

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1-I warned in the disclaimer :)

2-Who wouldn't?! Besides, if one goes to Tucows and download the WordWeb program, the word "lime" comes with several meanings, one being: **Verb**: lime Ilm (...)2. Cover with lime as to induce growth (large sweat-drop)

3-Again, I did warn in the disclaimer...

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AN: No beta-reader has proof-read this chapter.


	2. First Rule

Disclaimer: Check the Prologue.

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AN: First of all, it might be best to warn any reader that I, quite simply, have no idea where this is heading! Seriously, I just broke an important rule of writing: plan everything. So, don't be surprised with anything that appears here... Asides several ideas for future chapters, I don't really have a main plot for this.

And might as well as warn you that the Angels here have taken a vacation. I don't know when will the 11th be showing up and crashing the party...

To Amethyst Wind: Silly me, you're half-right! This is more of a crossover than an AU, though it still is one, since we'll be seeing some serious OOC and AU around, which much I can't reveal... yet! **Large Grin**

To claws: Sorry, but they will be coming around like that. Don't worry though; she won't be the only one. Misato was quite close as well to 'perfect', if my memory isn't failing... Like I've said, sorry, but they'll be 'presented' like that for a purpose.

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This is narrative.

"This is a dialogue."

"THIS IS SHOUTING."

'This is a quote/EMPHASIS made either during a dialogue or narrative.'

_These are thoughts._

**These are mouthed and facial expressions before, during, and after, a dialogue.**

This tells where and when the following happens.

(These will be Author Notes)

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"First Rule: You do not talk about Fight Club."

-Tyler Durden

12:32

Tokyo-3 High-School

He felt free. It was weird, not like he was free to do anything he wanted, but more like freeing of his worries, in a more primal emotional state. Like a carefree devil... Now, came the hard part: to deal with another devil! Said one was standing right in front of his desk, keeping a straight face, with the exception that her eyebrows were curved, slightly covering just a bit her eyes. Which meant there was something serious, and with violent consequences, in her mind. _She's probably envious of never leaving me like this_...

"Where did you go to get like this?" Though her words and tone was harsh, there was still something peculiar there... He wasn't sure, but he could 'ALMOST' swear it were her eyes, which gave her a worried look... This was all but possible, considering the individuals involved, namely Shinji and Asuka, and the state of the events, in this case being the fact that he just went through a meat-grinder. _Maybe she's just pissed off because I haven't made her lunch_...

Suddenly, just as she asked him, he heard a loud shout. A very loud male shout!

"OH NO! What's this world coming to? The Red-Headed Devil is all worried about Shinji!! What's gonna happen' next?? Confess her undying love for him?!!"

Now this was a first, usually Touji wouldn't go all hysterics like this. He knew that now his bruises were the same colour than the rest of his face: blood-like!

As usual, he just looked downwards, hoping that nobody could see him.

Asuka and Touji started bickering, throwing insults and low comments against each other – _Hell, they're practically brawling in the middle of the classro..._ - Suddenly Shinji remembered a dogma he had been told during the night. Spending a couple of moments reflecting about it, he stopped blushing, and actually smirked, which turned into a very low laughter, slowly increasing in volume. By the time he noticed, he was kneeling on the floor, grabbing his stomach with both arms, throat raspy from the constant laughing, his jaw going painfully numb because of being opened for so long, never mind the wounds and light dislocation of the jaw itself, and on the verge of tears. He looked around, still laughing and saw everybody looking curiously at him. Lowering his laugh, without ever losing his open grin, he straightened himself and, just when he was looking up; saw Rei Ayanami standing very close to him, leaning towards him, with a worried face.

Shinji was frozen for a minute, simply admiring her deep-magenta eyes. Although they reminded him of blood, he still couldn't help himself but to plunge into them, or was her who dove into his? Whatever it was, his sight was transfixed in her beautiful gaze and, unconsciously, he was also coming to realize how close to a perfect pale-colour and state her skin was, until his brain reminded his heart where he was. Clearing his throat, while looking down, and hoping to hide his obvious blush, he stood up, while supporting himself in his desk. Sweeping his eyes, carefully thanks to the bruises and cuts, with his hands, he looked at Touji and Asuka and said, half smiling

"Gomen nasai?!"

Kensuke approached him, and knocked Shinji's head a couple of times with his knuckles. Then he said

"Well, his brain's still there. So, what was the joke?"

Shinji looked around himself and, nervously, was aware of the fact that everybody was still there. However, remembering what happened during the night, he simply smiled and replied

"'On a long enough time line, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.' This isn't mine, I'm just quoting somebody. – And again Shinji surprised everybody. He passed by Touji, and was heading to the doors- Your time will come Touji, so don't rush it. –And now he gazed at the Class Rep for a moment- Some of us here wouldn't like it..." He stepped out, leaving a full classroom with everybody gapping at just what Shinji had done, never mind the fact that there was a couple now blushing too...

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18:45

Gates of Tokyo-3 High School

Shinji was exiting the school now, with his friends trailing him, Asuka and Hikari talking about the last trends, Rei walking in silence behind the girls, and Touji and Kensuke whispering and murmuring and pointing towards Shinji, all in a conspiratorial manner.

Things were kept this way, changing only when one of them would have to break apart from the group, because of final destinations, until it was only Asuka and Shinji, the former treading quietly behind the latter.

Again, things didn't alter, 'til they arrived on the apartment building where they were housed together. Both entered the elevator, Shinji first and Asuka second, and passed a couple of floors, when Asuka pressed the red button labelled 'Stop'. She placed herself between Shinji and the elevator doors, standing firmly, hands on hips, with an aggressive-stoic face. She then said, slightly low

"You never answered my question!"

Shinji, nervously, gulped dryly and replied

"I was at the park, when I fell off the steps."

"BULLSHIT, YOU BAKA! – Here he rapidly backed away from her bumping against a wall, very surprised with her shouts- I want the truth, and I want it now, and you better give it to me, unless you want to make another visit to the EMS!"

Now sweating profusely, he whimpered

"I'm sorry Asuka, but I can't talk about it."

Asuka slit her eyes, and replied

"And why not? What's stopping you?"

"It's the first rule: never talk about it! And it's the second rule too..." He really was hoping she didn't take any drastic measures.

Strange, though, right now, amidst the annoying loud blare alarm of the elevator, the very stuffy environment within the elevator, perspiration running across his face, bruises, bandages, cuts, and crusts, hands and legs trembling lightly, stomach all twisted in a knot, he was focusing, solely and almost carelessly, in observing her face, the lines and curves adorning her well-kept jaw and ruby lips, her small nose very slightly tipped upwards, her crystal azure irises underneath thin crimson eyebrows, and her flaming mane bundled backwards with some tipped forward, hiding her forehead.

_She really should lose those neural clips. If she's beautiful right now, then without them she would be devastating_...

Surprise must've been the wave the Lady of Fates was surfing, because Shinji, very slowly and trembling, raised his right hand and, barely, touched her chin with his index finger.

He would regret doing this for the rest of the day... And for the rest of the month...

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One month later, 7:25

Katsuragi/Ikari/Sohryu Residence

Asuka was munching on her breakfast while keeping a close eye on her roommate. Said one was sitting in front of her, raising a cup to his lips with his right hand. Hand bandaged with a finger in a metal-splinter. And his lips were swelled. He drank a bit, lowered it, grabbed a buttered toast, and bit it. She then saw his bruised eyes opening slightly, along with him lowering the toast, and plucking two fingers, left fingers, within his mouth and remove something from there. She looked at it, and saw a tooth. A molar, by the looks of it.

She saw him frown slightly at it, dunk the molar in a breast pocket of his shirt, and continue eating breakfast, as if nothing changed.

She sighed and started, again, to think about things and the way they were going.

He had disappeared again, three times, always Saturday nights, after dinner. He would spend several hours away and return in the early Sunday morning, after passing through the hospital, in a beaten-up state. Literally! To her knowledge, he had lost three, no, four teeth already. And won a scar at his left eyebrow, and at his index finger, though the latter she knew first-hand what and who caused it...

She wondered, though, why NERV kept Section 2 active... For a month now, they still hadn't managed to keep tails on him. They always lose him, one way or another. Twisting her nose, she questioned herself if Kaji couldn't keep up with Shinji too... Raising her head, and noticing Shinji grabbing his cup and dish, and lowering them to the sink, she posed a doubt to him

"Hey Shinji, I know that somehow you always managed to flee from Section 2. Have you ditched Kaji too?" The question was made in a jovial tone, polite, which in itself was starting to become usual, so she thought that he would reply accordingly.

Shinji half-turned to her, looked up, keeping a thoughtful face, and said

**Humm **"No, so far I still haven't seen him around. **Chuckles** He's probably busy with Misato in a bar – And now, as he looked at her direction, he raised considerably his eyebrows- or somewhere else starting with a 'b'..." He was now laughing lightly, as he turned again to the sink to proceed with the washing his cup and small dish.

Asuka thought for a moment, and found herself somewhat intrigued as to why she was bothered with the fact that he was most likely right. She wasn't pissed with Misato winning over Kaji, unfortunately she had conquered him, and she doubted that she could retaliate successfully; she was uncomfortable with Shinji being correct. Grabbing her bowl, she rose and headed to the sink, where she took Shinji's place.

She cleansed her bowl and spoon, dried them with a cloth, placed them in the cabinet, and turned around, catching Shinji giving the final arrangements to her bento. Finalizing it, he looked at her, gave a nod, and headed to the door. She grabbed her school bag, holstered it, which had its bento already inside, thanks to Shinji, and then headed outside too, observing Shinji leaving. She shoed her sneakers, and left the apartment, managing to catch the elevator, which Shinji was holding for her.

While they went through the usual path to school, she kept thinking about Shinji. She just couldn't help it; he was slowly becoming so different, so... confident! He was still shy and gloomy and quiet, but... he was changing. What was really confusing was how come getting involved in 4 fights would help him, improve him. Oh, he was improving, no doubt about that! His replies and statements were starting to compete with hers, as well as jabs and comments he would throw every now and again with a faint smile and 'innocent expression' on his face. They were reaching the school gates when she felt the curiosity getting the best of her, so, resisting no longer, she tried to keep a levelled head, and pose a question that would clarify things.

"Hey Shinji, can I ask you something?" Things like these, such as calling him by his name instead of a nickname, were becoming common, since the 'incident' at the elevator, three weeks past. That didn't mean, though, that she was enjoying it.

Shinji looked at her, with a neutral face, and nodded.

"Tell me, why do you enjoy getting beaten like this?"

He stopped, and stood, watching everything around him, for almost a minute. Then, he turned to her, and said, in a confident, and reliable manner

"I don't 'enjoy' getting beaten. It's the whole thing, being there against somebody else who I've never seen before, or did, and don't know, or do. It's doing something my body and soul yearns, but can't explain it. With every punch, kick, grapple, whatever, it's like I'm setting myself free. Free of the worries, burdens, pains, doubts, responsibilities, concerns, – here he paused for a moment, gazing at her- you... It's all about getting out of Tokyo-3, even for just an hour, and stepping to another world, parallel, similar, but different. Better... It's – again, he stopped. He bit his lower lip and glanced sideways for a moment, before gazing at her. His tone was now full of conviction, belief – One of the creators said 'With insomnia nothing's real. Everything's far away. Everything's a copy of a copy of a copy.' – He was now leaning towards her - Well, I don't know about you, but I woke up. I'm sick and tired of all the crap NERV keeps telling us. To Hell with them! As soon as all the angels are gone, I'm walking away from here. I'm leaving, and building a life for myself." He stood straight, and entered the school gates, leaving her there, thinking about his words.

All things considered, she didn't know what was worst: the fact that he believed in everything he had just told her, or the possibility of him being right... Or, worse, he had lost points of lucidity, and gone insane. Resolving to do nothing about this, she followed him.

_It's your own grave you're digging, baka! If you want to lose all your teeth, and gain scars, be that way. I couldn't care any less..._

Still, there was something that she wouldn't ever admit to anybody, much less herself: if something bad would happen, or had already happen, to him, she wouldn't like it. Nope, she wouldn't indeed...

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TBC

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AN: No beta-reader has proof-read this chapter.


	3. Second Rule

Disclaimer: Check the Prologue.

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AN: Might as well warn the readers that, here, there will be a fight. This is my first chapter with fights, so there's the high possibility that it's badly built.

To nicknack: ".... but some dangerous crappy SA stuff incubating...." If I were you I, wouldn't worry myself with that, since the most you'll see are friendship and comradeship. For now, I have no intention of throwing this into a romance of any kind. Like I've said at the Prologue 'only teasers at the most'! Unless, of course, for some very strong reason, I do place some intimate and romantic paragraphs, but such is highly improbable. ".... And get us into one of those fights where hinji get moped around or mopes a guy around...dunno." Wish granted :)

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This is narrative.

"This is a dialogue."

"THIS IS SHOUTING."

'This is a quote/EMPHASIS made either during a dialogue or narrative.'

_These are thoughts._

**These are mouthed and facial expressions before, during, and after, a dialogue.**

This tells where and when the following happens.

(These will be Author Notes)

---

---

"Second Rule: You do NOT TALK about Fight Club."

-Tyler Durden

Saturday, 21:57

Katsuragi/Ikari/Sohryu Residence (1)

"Damnit Kensuke, do you really believe this is the best way of getting to know what's Shinji been doing?"

"Yes, I'm positive about this. From what I can tell, he hasn't told anyone about where he goes every Saturday's night, or a reliable reason for why he fights. We have to follow him, and we can't let him be aware of us, or we're dead."

Touji looked at him, with an eyebrow raised.

"I somehow doubt he would kill us, Ken..."

Kensuke just looked exasperated, and slapped his forehead with his right hand, while muttering about the ignorance of people towards vocabulary. (2)

Still, one had to give some respect to them. They were both standing outside the building where Shinji lived along with one of the most desirable purple-haired female and a redheaded cruel devil, hidden between said building and a neighbouring-one. He had chosen this location for the stakeout because of three important facts: first, the nearest street lamp was several metres away, and the very small alley had none of its own, which cast this place in an almost complete darkness; second, they had a perfect view of the two exits of the building, the main and the emergency, allowing them to watch out for him; third, if the need arose, they could run and hide deeper in the alleyway, or jump to the pave walk and hide between the several cars parked.

Kensuke saw that there was no possibility of them being spotted by Shinji, so he was congratulating himself on an excellent location chosen, when he saw, across the street, in another alley between buildings, two black-suited men. Recognizing them as Section 2 from NERV, he now remembered something that he had caught the Red-Devil telling the Class Rep. about Shinji always managing somehow elude from them. Slitting his eyes and pressing his lips, he looked around and saw a parked Ford Focus on the same side of the building, but a few metres away from the main exit, and around ten meters from them, with a hand outside having a lit cigar between his fingers. He also saw, in another building directly in front of theirs, a balcony with no lights and two agents, one of them leaning against the rails, looking at the building, along with several electronic devices on top of something, most likely they were a vid-cam and audio-web.

Hearing the front door of the building opening, both peered from the alley, checking who was leaving. They saw a tall blond woman with a body in 'good shape', a black mid-skirt, brown blouse, and a dark-something jacket. Following her was Misato, which caused them to peer more and saliva to start leaving their mouths and paint the sidewalk.

Kensuke, noticing Misato and company were coming in their direction, blinked, cleared his throat, and pushed Touji and himself back to the alley, pressing them against the wall. They then heard Misato talking.

"... Well, at least you've got to admit that his sync-ratio is steadily raising with his midnight fights." He then heard the other woman.

"And his performance in the exercises is getting better too. In the last one, you should've seen him going against the third with only his fists. **Chuckles** He didn't even used his prog-knife."

"At least, he eliminated the target. I don't know though, if when the 11th comes, he'll do the same."

He saw them, then, entering Misato's car, offering them also a good view of her rear during it.

Looking back at the building, he saw Shinji exit the building, with a metal cylinder in his left hand, as soon as the car started. Elbowing Touji, he pulled out a small flashlight and a small bunch of papers, which were maps of Tokyo-3, decently folded.

Preparing themselves for a few sprints, they saw him waving at the building where there were two agents in a balcony, and next go to the Ford Focus and give them the metal cylinder. He guessed it was a thermos with something to drink. He heard Touji whisper

"I don't think he put sleeping pills on the thermos... Do you?"

Kensuke saw him, then, walking away casually. He replied

"Nah, what would be the use? He knows where and how many they are, the car must be one of the lesser worries he's got, right now."

"Yeah, if I were him, I'd be more troubled in losing the four guys in the alleys."

"Yeah—What, four? Where?"

Touji pointed, with his thumb over his shoulder, backwards. Kensuke looked and saw two leaning against the wall, talking with each other. Gaping, he looked at Touji in disbelief.

"What? I thought you had already seen them!"

Shaking his own head several times, he grunted and turned, seeing Shinji in the distance. Turning towards the agents, he asked

"Aren't you guys going to follow him?"

One of the agents looked at him, and said

"Nope, we're under orders to protect the apartment and the Children while in it. Third Child, however, has no exterior escorts."

Frowning, he pulled Touji by his sleeve and went pursuing Shinji. _Maybe they already know, keeping it wrapped up, and allowing him to keep doing this. Or they don't know, and don't care, for some reason_...

Hiding between cars, behind posts of mail, lights, traffic, and publicity, keeping always-visual contact, they kept the chase for some time.

Seeing Shinji enter a convenience store, they go to the other side of the street, hide behind a car, and wait. From where they were, they had a small field of view of the interior of the store. They stood out, waiting for over ten minutes, when Touji, suddenly, grabs him and drags him quickly, and openly, to the store, where they enter and gaze around, looking for Shinji.

Kensuke couldn't believe it. What was going on with Touji? Swallowing, he also looked around and, much to his surprise, Shinji wasn't anywhere. When he saw, however, the man behind the counter, he now knew why Touji had decided to come out like this: a young man, around twenty-five, dark haired, average build, had a face in a very similar state to Shinji's. And, again, Touji surprised Kensuke. He went to the counter and said, in a jovial but lightly annoyed tone

"Damnit where's that guy? He better not be late. Hey, have you seen a guy our age, brown hair all messed up, dark blue eyes, average body, dressed in a white shirt and black pants with black shoes? We were supposed to rendezvous here, and he would take us to... you know?" By the end, Touji was making a circular motion with his right hand, along with his eyebrows raised.

The guy looked at them for a few moments, and then asked, in a neutral tone and expression

"Been there before?"

Kensuke, now deciding to enter the game too, said

"Hey, you know the rules: you do not talk about it."

The man stared at them for a few more moments, and then pointed to a door on the back of the store.

"He went through there. He's been doing it for a while now, to help losing those black suits that chase him everywhere."

Touji nodded quickly and headed to the door, with Kensuke following him.

They used it, and now were in a small tight alley, kept in a slight poor state, with dumpsters and abandoned crates loitering the street. They didn't saw Shinji; however there were only two possible directions he might've taken, so they started to run, in a light jog. For almost a quarter-of-hour, they kept wandering in the alley, looking for any sign of Shinji. However, they didn't found any. Suddenly, they heard

"Bakas don't tell me you actually lost him too!"

They turned around and saw two persons they never expected: Asuka and Hikari!

Kensuke, scratching his head, asked

"What're you two doing here?"

Asuka simply smirked and said, in a mocking tone

"Ask that question to yourself and you'll know our answer!"

Touji then interrupted

"You followed us, hoping that we would find out where he's been going for the last weeks?"

Hikari nodded, and said

"Yeah, but I guess he managed to lose you two..."

Asuka frowned, and went to the nearest exit of the alley. Kensuke decided to follow her. They were now in a street with residential buildings, and a public gym. He was now admitting that Shinji did outsmart him. Conceding his defeat, he looked at Asuka, and saw that she was looking at the gym. She, out of the blues, snapped her fingers, and said

"I know where he is, come on!" She then crossed the street, heading towards the gym. Kensuke, confused, followed her. He also heard Touji and Hikari's footsteps behind him.

Reaching it, he noticed Asuka was trying to push open the main doors. Noticing they wouldn't budge, he started to circle the gym, trying to find a window or a back door that might be open. Or easy to open. He was just reaching the back of the gym, when he saw a crowd, around twenty guys, talking with each other. He also saw Shinji, amidst the crowd, talking normally with a group of men. Deciding they had hit bulls' eye, he turned back, and went to call the rest.

Silently calling them, with his index finger over his lips, he motioned them to follow. They settled behind a line of cars and mini-vans parked next to the gym, in the side-alley. There was a paraphernalia of people there: men with casual clothing, suits of every types, uniforms of the police and all types of jobs, there was even a young man with robe garbs indicating he was a priest of some kind. Suddenly, they heard some loud rapid clapping, made by a tall and muscled man, in tight sports wear. He went through a double back door of the gym, and the crowd followed him. Kensuke was rising himself to follow them, when he saw that Asuka was already on her way there. Blinking, he and Touji went, with Hikari treading carefully and nervously.

Entering the gym, they saw a couple of them walking through another door, with a corridor poorly lit beyond it. Carefully, trying to be as stealthy as possible, they kept a low walk to there.

The corridor led to a staircase, downwards. They descended it, passing by another door, as well as crates and small transport-carts for clothing laundry. They came to be in a large room, which was kept in an average state. They saw the men forming a circle. Kensuke then saw a man with a brown uniform, a NERV uniform, step forward. He had an average-low muscular build, thin hair reaching his shoulders. He then heard Asuka mutter something. Turning towards her, he asked. She replied

"Shigeru Aoba, he's a bridge technician." They then heard the man, who had clapped outside, shout something. However, due to the distance they were from them, they couldn't make out what he was saying. Kensuke then saw something he had never seen before: Shinji stepped forward from the circle, giving a nod to Aoba. He saw both taking off their shirts and under-shirts, as well as their shoes and belts. Shinji did some quick stretching with his arms, legs, and neck, before standing in a guard position in front of Aoba, which did likewise. He heard Touji then

"I can't believe it. Shinji's stepping forward to fight against somebody, with nobody telling him to?" Hikari was the one who replied

"Maybe they have some sorts of rules here, to prevent any major harm to them?" Asuka threw a jab, though, that the three of them didn't expected

"By the looks of Shinji during this last month, I somehow doubt that."

The fight beginning, though, impeded any further discussion about this.

Shinji was on defence, keeping a small distance from Aoba, who, in turn, kept making several quick sweeps and faints. Shinji just kept dodging him. Things were kept this way, Aoba trying to hit Shinji; the latter keeping at all times a small distance from the former. The crowd was cheering and shouting, eager to see some blood. Needless to say that Kensuke and company was staring and following the fight as well, though the feelings each had were different.

Several minutes passed by, around six, 'til Shinji changed the pace. He made a quick jump to the front, giving a punch at Aoba's right thigh, which was surprised with this and half-fell, consequence of Shinji hitting a central nerve. Shinji didn't slow down either, he punched twice Aoba's stomach, and next lifted his left knee that connected, rather forcibly, with his chin, making Aoba fall backwards.

Aoba, however, didn't stop. He rolled backwards, and lifted himself, and now he was raging. Shinji was heading towards him, when Aoba sprinted, half-bend, against Shinji, hitting him in his mid-torso, and pushing him backwards, until they went against a pillar. Aoba stood straight, back head butting against Shinji's chin. Several slow, but powerful, jabs at Shinji's kidneys and stomach left him gasping for air. Aoba didn't stop with this; he grabbed Shinji's head and, thrice, pushed it against the pillar. After the third, Aoba released it, and gave two steps back. Shinji, though he leaned against the pillar for balance, ended collapsing in the floor, leaving a bloodstain at the pillar.

Kensuke was awakened from his stupor, by hearing someone vomiting. He looked at his right, and saw Hikari bend over, throwing up, with Touji close to her, comforting her back with his right hand, and looking at her with concern. Kensuke blinked, and looked at Asuka, seeing that she too was concerned with Hikari. However, she quickly looked back to the circle. Kensuke, giving the two friends one last look, turned to the circle as well. There he saw that the big man was now in the middle of the circle, with his right arm over Aoba's shoulders, which had his own arms high in the air and seemed to be howling in contentment. Strange thing, though, was that he seemed happy not by defeating Shinji, but by being there simply.

Aoba then lowered his arms, and kneeled next to Shinji. He grabbed his head, turned it towards him, and called out his name, very loud, several times. The guys knew Shinji awoke when he gave Aoba a slap at his left cheek. Aoba simply laughed good-naturedly, and helped Shinji rise. There they stood for a moment, checking each other for a minute, with everybody giving them their cheers and congratulations. They then joined the circle, allowing two other men to fill their previous spot in the middle. A few moments after, they were brawling. Shinji and Aoba were holding each other, enthusiastically shouting at the two men now punching and kicking each other.

Kensuke felt his sleeve being pulled, so he looked at his right and saw that Touji and Hikari were already by the stairs, and Asuka was the one who was tugging his sleeve.

"Come on, dumpkopf; let's get out of here, before they see us."

Taking one last look at everything, he nodded to Asuka and the two headed quietly to the staircase.

A few minutes later, they were outside. Touji said

"Well, now we know where Shinji goes every Saturday night. I can't figure it out, though, why he likes fighting this much. I mean, I remember when Kensuke and me were with him in his entry plug fighting the 4th Angel, and he didn't liked it one bit. I don't get it!"

Hikari replied, though her own voice was doubtful

"Maybe he likes being in a group who accept him well?"

Asuka's reply was harsh, again

"NERV accepts him; Misato's the living proof of that. It's something else."

They, then, heard a voice which belonged to someone they had no idea had been with them all this time.

"He enjoys being himself. He enjoys not having to wear masks, to deceive those surrounding him. He enjoys this, because he can be who he truly is, without regrets and doubts and uncertainties."

The four turned to the voice, seeing Rei Ayanami looking at the moon while saying it. She continued

"It has been his choice. We should leave him to it." She then walked away from them, heading towards the alleys, diving deeper in the darkness of the night.

Asuka shook her head several times and said

"Well, she's right. No use trying to talk Shinji out of this. –She turned to Hikari- Come on, we've seen enough." She then grabbed Hikari's hand and dragged her to the street. Hikari was confused with all this, and only managed to say some warm good-byes to them, though she was looking and waving at Touji the whole time.

Kensuke turned to Touji and said

"What do you say tomorrow we talk to Shinji about all this?"

Touji, having a thoughtful look on him, spent a moment gazing in the direction Asuka and Hikari went, before replying

"If you want... Just don't spread word around school about all this. It's Shinji's secret, and we aren't going to betray him. –He then looked at Kensuke, with a jovial expression- Well, I'm going home. See ya tomorrow, buddy."

Touji then proceeded to the streets as well.

Kensuke gazed at him, then at the gym, and went home as well, mulling about the why's of Shinji's secret habits...

---

TBC

---

1- I have no idea how's the street, where the apartment-building is, called, so I'm leaving it like this...

2- I know this might seem as a bash on Touji, but don't get yourselves wrong, actually it's Kensuke who, unaware, is the 'ignorant in the vocabulary'. And no, this isn't either a bash on Kensuke... Well, mayhaps a light-one, at least ;)

---

AN: No beta-reader has proof-read this chapter.


	4. Third Rule

Disclaimer: Check the Prologue.

---

AN: Shinji and Rei here will be opening up a lot and, well, become OOC. Before flaming, please remember I warned about it in the Summary and Prologue.

---

This is narrative.

"This is a dialogue."

"THIS IS SHOUTING."

'This is a quote/EMPHASIS made either during a dialogue or narrative.'

_These are thoughts._

**These are mouthed and facial expressions before, during, and after, a dialogue.**

This tells where and when the following happens.

(These will be Author Notes)

---

---

"Third Rule: Someone yells stop, goes limp, taps out, the fight is over."

-Tyler Durden

13:04 

Tokyo-3 High-School

Mondays had been like this four times before: Shinji Ikari would arrive late, all bandaged and bruised, and today was no exception.

That didn't meant Touji wouldn't want to talk to him. Not to know why he fights, that's a far too personal subject. No, what he wanted to know was how he dealt with the wounds. It would come in handy for him, in the near future.

Trying to get rid of the thoughts of him asking her out for a nice lunch, Touji turned to Shinji, he and Kensuke were leaning against the rails forward, both with their arms interlocked, and Shinji between them sitting on the floor, with his back also leaning against the rails.

"Shinji, tell me, how do you deal with the pain and broken bones? Painkillers?"

Shinji swallowed whatever it was he was chewing, and replied in a warm amused tone

"Nope. I just live with it."

Kensuke now was the one who asked

"What?! Why? You enjoy the pain, or something?"

"No, **Chuckles** I'm not a masochist, I just don't want drugs running through my veins and affecting my body and brain all the time. It's like this, I only take medications during the first four to five days, and it depends on the wounds prescript."

_Still, it must've hurt last night, punching that guy with a broken hand_...

Shinji then looked at them, each at a time, and asked

"You guys didn't notice it, did you?"

"Noticed what?"

"I fought with my right hand behind my back. Not like I'd wish to break the other four fingers." He was now laughing. Kensuke said, in a light-low tone

"It mustn't be very nice, getting in a fight and the opponent grabs our hand and breaks it..."

Shinji, after hearing this from Kensuke, choked on the remains of his food. He was now coughing violently. His red face, though, it was either from the coughs or something else...

Kensuke must've seen it too, because he asked

"What's wrong, Shinji? That WAS what happened to your right index finger, wasn't it?"

Shinji, still flushing, just nodded rapidly, looking downward. Neither of them was buying it now. Obviously, Shinji was hiding something. Deciding to try and make him confess it later, Touji just kept looking down, observing his colleagues wander around the school. His focus, however, was concentrated on a group of girls of his class. Alas, thanks to his company, namely Shinji and Kensuke, Touji kept changing his gaze all around, faking the fact that, from the corner of his eyes, he would always keep gazing at a female beauty he had known now for some time. And dreamed about too. He then heard Shinji's voice

"Hey guys, any chance you two would head now to the class without me?"

Touji, perplexed, asked

"Sure, no problem, but why?"

Now he noticed Shinji had his gaze focused on something ahead of him, probably by the staircase door. Turning towards it, both him and Kensuke, they saw there, holding the door half-ajar, Ayanami Rei. Shrugging, he looked at Kensuke, called him, and headed to the doors. Kensuke spent just a moment there longer, and then followed him. They passed by Ayanami, giving her just a polite nod, and left the roof.

Rei's POV

Although Rei kept her gaze always on Shinji, she was monitoring Kensuke and Touji's distance, by listening to their footsteps on the stairs. Checking one last time that the two of them were now out of sight and ear, Rei approached him, stopping only 7 feet away from Shinji, who was still sitting on the floor with his back resting against the rail.

"Tell me, why do you attend and participate in fights with no rules?"

Shinji glanced at her eyes for a moment, and replied

"Why do you do the same?"

Rei drew back a bit, honestly surprised.

"I do not participate in such."

"Yes, you do. Three times already."

Rei thought for a while, thoroughly confused with this, when it dawned on her what he was talking about.

"Our battles with the Angels were... - She opened her mouth in an 'o' shape, which meant that now she truly was recognizing his point, as well as her eyes opening a bit more- I see, you are comparing our conflicts with the Angels to these gatherings you go to. I fight because it is my purpose."

"Well, I fight because I want to create my own purpose. Through blood, sweat, and tears, if needed. And, right now, I need, because it's the only way. With all that, I've been fighting my inner demons, which plague my conscience constantly, telling me to do what others told me to, so that I'm a good boy and loved."

"You still do. You follow their rules of engagement."

"Yes, for respect. But I don't want their love. Friendship is welcome with open arms, **Chuckles** but I don't want their love in trade for my blood and pain. **Deep Breath** I want to learn how it feels to be alive; to feel true pain, anxiety, adrenalin, frustration, anger, I want to learn it. Once I do, I'll be able to build a life of my own, alone and away from everyone that knows me. One of them told me that, in order to defeat an enemy, we must know him. Misato already proved that to me seven times." **Laughs**

"I do not understand, I thought that friends were individuals loved and cherished."

"Yes, they are. And don't get me wrong, I love mine, but I needed to lose a tooth, and a lot of blood, to realize I already had friends, people who loved me. It's like I'm building my personality from scratch, starting everything all over again, so that I may find happiness and acknowledge it. Because I didn't. When I came here, and Misato became my guardian, I never thought what she really was to me, what was she doing. Only when talking with Kensuke and Touji did they told me something that made me realize that Misato loved me for the boy I was, not because I was an EVA pilot. **Sigh** In a way, she has become my mother... Or my big sister **Chuckles**. Regardless of it, I love her, for her loving me. That's the way humans deal with each other, I think. Emotions are shared and earned, not won nor conquered. –He looked at her more intently- For an example, if I wanted you to be my girlfriend; I would have to demonstrate to you what place you already possess in my heart, by offering you a special bento, or taking you out for dinner. But you wouldn't feel my love unless I felt yours."

"That would mean that I would only be your friend after you became mine?" She really was perplexed with this, not as if she knew that much about emotions, apart the essays and books she read.

"No, it means that you would never be my friend unless I was yours. **Smirk** That didn't come out any better, did it? –She simply nodded negatively- Alright, it's like this, either we become friends at the same time, or we don't. I look at you, and if I decide to be your friend, I'll have to talk to you, get to know you a bit better. If I like what I'm seeing, then I'm taking our potential relationship one step further, in the hopes that you enjoy my character, so that we come to consider each other as friends. If not, then I either walk away or keep it at its current state. This, in this case, would be nothing Small smirk. For a better example, here, sit next to me." He was patting the spot on his left.

Confused with it, she sat down on his left side, his left arm touching her right one. He was a bit embarrassed with it, though. He then said

"Tell me, what do you feel, right now? Here, sitting next to me, on a deserted roof."

She looked down, at the floor, for a few moments, considering it. _What do I feel? I feel complacent perhaps. Satisfied, maybe. But why? Why do I feel good by being here, like this, next to him? Perhaps this is some sort of bonding, something akin to friendship. Companionship. Am I... am I afraid of loneliness? Or am I afraid of being without him? Why? Why do I fear being without his presence, his... friendship? Is that it, has he spent all this time, since he came to know my existence, to become my friend? Is that what drove him to pilot Unit 01 during third's attack, to protect me? ... Yes, that must've been his reason for piloting when he had arrived at Tokyo-3. And now, is he now trying to get to know me better? ... Or is he trying to make me know myself? ... Too many questions for me... Too many, because I am alone. If I had someone I could relate to, then I could discuss this with someone else..._

Lifting her gaze from the floor, she looked at his right, where Shinji sat, and stared at his deep-blue eyes. She then stated

"I do not know what I am feeling. I think... I think that I enjoy being here, with you, but..."

"But you're not certain. Why? Because you never faced that, you never asked yourself why. Because you never came to realize what you feel in a certain situation, because you don't know how to. And that's why I fight, so that I may learn several things, important things, that my previous tutor and uncle never taught me."

Again directing her gaze at the floor, she heard the school bell ringing. Shinji continued

"Time's up. Now what'll you do? Will you follow the school's rules and go to class, or will you stay here a bit longer?"

"I do not understand, shouldn't I do the required procedure?"

"Only if you want to. We build laws and order, so that we can defy and break and twist them to our own selfish goals. It's what this is all about. I want to learn about life, so that I may find a way to decide when to follow and when to break the rules, so that I may feel happy. Like, as an example, I want to buy something, like a game, but I don't have enough money. So, that leaves me with a bunch of possibilities: steal the money from Misato, or from somebody else, maybe people I've never seen before; steal what I want from the store; save money to buy it in the future; ask Misato to buy it for me; heck, ask a loan on a local bank... I want to learn how to view every possible outcome, and weigh them, and then decide on one of them... Or several... I want to learn how to live, and in the Fight Club I can, because there's no lie among us. Last night, Aoba told me a couple of things about EVA who was classified too high for me. Last Saturday, one taught me a couple of things about the best ways to serve people as a waiter in the restaurants. Do you understand now?"

"Yes... yes, I do. – She rose from her spot and gave a couple of steps forward, towards the stair door, before asking, only turning her head very slightly to him- Only one last question. Will you... When you fulfil your goals, will you teach them to me?"

She heard clothes rustling and a few footsteps, meaning he got up and walked to her. She then felt a hand, a warm hand, on her right shoulder, giving it a little comforting squeeze. Blushing, she walked to the door, opened it, and walked down the stairs calmly. She definitely felt good in the roof, cherished in the company of someone trustworthy...

18:51

Somewhere in Tokyo-3

Shinji and Rei were walking together, quietly discussing something. Kensuke and Touji went ahead of them, now and again looking back at the two, no longer so surprised with this, and Asuka and Hikari were leading the group walking ahead of the previous four, chatting about another gossip. Touji turned his attention fully to Shinji, and asked, in a sympathetic tone

"So Shinji, tell us, what really happened to your right hand?"

Shinji looked up, as a deer in the middle of a road with a truck about to run him over. He stuttered for a moment, until hearing the voice of Rei.

"Pilot Sohryu broke his index finger, for assaulting her in the elevator." Her tone and words were so cold, as if she had just made a stoic statement. Kensuke, however, caught something that might prove otherwise: she had a very faint smile adorning her lips.

Shinji was now blabbering, trying to come up with a credible lie, flushing heavily. As for Hikari and Asuka, the former was gaping at the whole situation, while the latter kept a blank gaze upon Shinji. Hikari then said, violently

"Ikari Shinji, you, of all people, what did you tried to do to Asuka?"

"I-I-I-I jus-s-s-t... Well, you see..."

"He touched my lower lip with his finger." Always blank, Asuka turned around and kept going, leaving the group behind. Hikari threw an indignant scowl at Shinji, and then gave a sprint to reach Asuka. The two then continued on their own, now keeping a good distance from the four.

As for Touji and Kensuke, they both looked at him with an amused face, and resumed their pace. Shinji, blush diminishing, looked at Rei. She, keeping her small smile, just stated, in a fake-innocent tone

"Didn't you say that there were no lies between us?"

Shinji blinked, growled, and then said in an angered tone

"Well, you never told me anything about your past..."

Rei looked at the other side of the street for a moment, before replying, in a murmur, as soft and calm as a swift cool breeze

"Not yet. Soon, Shinji... soon..." She then kept walking, on a slower pace, as if waiting for him to keep up with her.

Shinji, now feeling a bit bad about his outburst, was going to apologize, when he heard the unmistakable sound of tires. Looking back, he saw a blue Renault he knew by heart already. Turning to Rei, he saw that she too had noticed it. He stood where he was, without saying a word, until the Alpine reached them. Within, there was Misato behind the steering wheel, which addressed him.

"Hey, Shinji, where's Asuka?"

Shinji simply pointed forward the pave walk. Misato gave him a nod and said

"Hop in; the three of you are having a new test scheduled to fifteen minutes ago. Come on."

---

TBC

---

AN: No beta-reader has proof-read this chapter.


	5. Fourth Rule

Disclaimer: Check the Prologue.

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AN: This will be passing during the 'Lilliputian Hitcher' episode. However, I won't be putting more than a dozen of lines from the series, due to the cause that this will center the children, not the angel pointedly nor Ritsuko and Magi.

---

This is narrative.

"This is a dialogue."

"THIS IS SHOUTING."

'This is a quote/EMPHASIS made either during a dialogue or narrative.'

_These are thoughts._

**These are mouthed and facial expressions before, during, and after, a dialogue.**

This tells where and when the following happens.

(These will be Author Notes)

---

---

"Fourth Rule: Only two guys to a fight."

-Tyler Durden

20:48

NERV HQ, Geofront

"... A shower and changing the underwear isn't enough." Ritsuko's tones left little doubt whether she, and the procedure she wanted from the three pilots, was convincible. That wouldn't either be enough, though, to make Asuka cease her rants.

"All this just for a test of auto-piloting?"

"Time isn't the only thing evolving. EVA technology also evolves! We need new data." She wondered if perhaps it would be a good move to start talking stoically like Ritsuko did all the time... Then again, that would be preferable when she was older. For now, she would keep her good grace and dignity filled with emotions. Those did strike crucial nerves every now and again...

"Well, are you happy? Here I am, showered seventeen times in a row." A small huff of air afterwards pointed the fact that she had no problem with taking their orders, so far.

"Pass the room just like you are and enter the capsules."

"WHAT?" Now this was definitely going too far. As if she would ever pose for the whole of NERV and, to top it all, Shinji.

"Don't worry. The video-feed will be offline. Your intimacy will be protected."

"That has nothing to do with it. It's about how I'll feel." It was true, so what the cameras would be off. That didn't mean Shinji and Wonder Girl wouldn't view her body of perfection. Glancing at her right side, she saw Shinji look at her with a bemused face, he shrugged and exited his spot, revealing his body to the two girls. She had to admit that, ever since he had joined the Fight Club his body was gaining some muscles. _And those biceps... Oh, nice looking rear_- Blinking several times, and blushing madly, she looked at Rei, and saw that she too was gazing at his backside. She heard Shinji

"What's the matter, girls? Enjoying the view?" Returning her gaze to him, she saw that he had turned just a bit, giving them a chance to see his front. And he wasn't covering his lower regions! Now feeling her blush spreading throughout her body, she screamed

"AS IF THERE WAS ANYTHING GOOD-LOOKING IN YOUR BODY, YOU HENTAI!! – Actually, there were quite several things, but 'that' she would never admit- YOU GO FIRST, AND WONDER GIRL HERE GOES NEXT!" It seemed that Shinji wouldn't be the only one surprising her today, due to Rei's comment

"I see, not only you admired Shinji's physical status, you wish to revel in mine as well."

Sputtering violently, she was about to open the door of her chamber and jump on Rei, when she heard Shinji

"I don't mind posing!" Open-mouthed, she saw him shake his head, and keep walking, passing to the next stage. She then heard a very faint sigh. Turning to Rei, she saw her relax her shoulders with... was that a wishful look in her eyes?!... She then followed him, giving one last lungful sigh.

Grumbling, she too passed on to the next stage, wondering if NERV had ordered Rei to drink some absinthe...

---

16 Minutes later

Geofront Lake, Unit 01 Entry Plug

Removing the kit from underneath the seat (1), he opened it and plucked out the, purple with green stripes, life jacket. Keeping it in front of him for a second, he wondered why NERV would colour it the same style than the EVA... _Whatever, I've got more to worry about now_...

Twisting the safety handles of the Entry Plug, he opened the hatch, and came outside. Congratulating himself about a small correct assumption, he looked around with the emergency binoculars, and confirmed the three of them were in the Geofront' lake. Recognizing Rei's Plug, since he had come to have it engraved in his mind, and hands, due to a past Angel attack, he placed a very small duffel bag strapped around his left shoulder, and jumped to the water, with the life-jacket, sans any suit warming and protecting him from the cold of the water.

**Splash** Keeping, or trying to, his head above the surface, he sputtered some salt water, before realizing that it really was extremely cold. Then, he started to move his arms and legs, trying to push himself to the nearest Plug, this being Rei's.

Two minutes afterward, he finally reached her Plug. Then something came up he never thought of: how was he supposed to gain entry outside in the water? He didn't even have anything to hold on-to, out here like this. The cold wouldn't give him much time for breathing too, so he improvised: he banged repeatedly on the Plug, hoping against all hope, that Rei would note the noise. A few moments afterward, he saw the Plug's hatch open and, much to his pleasure (2), Rei peeked outside. Seeing him, she lent her right hand, trying to reach him as much as possible, keeping her body as much as possible within her Plug. Darting his numb frozen right arm out of the water, he grabbed her forearm, and tried to lift himself enough to grab the inner Plug.

A few more moments passed, with Rei trying to pull and Shinji trying to rise, before he grabbed the Entry, and raise himself inside. Desperately trying, but finding it especially hard, thanks to the cold, he, somehow due to Rei's effort, managed to enter the Plug.

Immediately, he curled himself in a tight ball, shivering violently, and started to rub with his hands his own legs and shoulders. Hearing the hatch closing, he heard her sit in the Plug's floor right next to him, and try to pull out the bag and life-jacket from him. It wasn't easy, and it must've been straining on her nerves to see him like this and do little to help, she then embraced him, both being bare-naked, her chest against his left arm, her right arm rubbing his back rapidly, her left rubbing his legs, and her breath coming out hot against his neck.

Stuttering, he said

"S-s-s-sor-r-r-r-y ab-b-b-out all t-t-t-t-this Rei... I-I-I did-d-dn't wan-n-n-ted to-to-to-"

**Sshhh** "It's alright, Shinji. Just relax, keep thinking about something warm..."

Blushing, he replied, murmuring

"I did-d-d-dn't ne-e-e-ed tha-a-a-t, Rei..."

He then felt her detaching herself from him. Feeling hurt by it, he turned only to see her grab his shoulders and say

"Shinji, listen to me. Come to the seat. Come..."

Blinking and nodding, he got up, with her helping him, and sits down. He was about to curl himself again, when he saw something that, though it was as arousing as a succubus promising him a night of carnal festivities of all sorts, it warmed his heart exponentially: she placed herself in front of him, between him and the controls of the Plug, pulled his legs apart, and sit down, torso and pelvis leaning against each other, nipples touching something very soft and firm, her legs staying 'fallen', but wrapping his around her rear, hugging him with her left arm covering his lower back, and her right arm encircling his left shoulder and neck, therefore causing his forehead to touch her right shoulder as well as their right cheeks to touch each other.

Feeling now warming a lot faster, considering he was sitting down on her seat, as well as having her body covering, and touching, his as much as possible, his heart was really affected by all this, so, lifting his head from her shoulder, he gave her cheek a light kiss, which only lasted a fraction of a second in the material world, but within, in the spiritual world, in the denizen of emotions of them both, it lasted all but a lifetime. He then said, still stuttering, though less

"T-t-hank you, Rei, f-f-for this-s-s... At a-a-a tim-m-e like th-i-i-is, I agr-r-ree with... with a p-p-part of NERV's m-m-m-otto, 'An-n-nd all is r-r-right wit-th the w-w-world-d.'"...

Both blushing quite heavily, they relaxed their bodies, and simply rested in each other's warmth...

---

Two hours later, around 22:00 

Unit 00 Entry Plug

Blinking, Shinji lifted his head from a warm, soft, and comfortable, place, and looked around for a moment. Then it crashed down on him, as his brain started the OS: he had swim to Rei's Plug and she embraced him, in order to warm him up and prevent hypothermia. He blinked again, and noticed that her chest was leaning completely against his, thus providing him with an excellent feel of... Blushing, he also noticed that his right arm was leaning to her left leg, which in turn was leaning against his entire right side, and his right hand was on her left buttock. He raised his hand from there, which was quite warm, almost as much as other crucial parts of his body, and letting it covering her lower back. Looking at her face, which was resting in his right shoulder, sideways, with a perfect satisfied smile, he copied her, in terms of facial expression, and leaned his head back, and took a deep breath.

Praying that when she woke up, wouldn't notice his arousal, as if it was possible not to be in a situation like this, he darted his sight to his right, finding the internal clock, and reading '22:18:23'. Wondering what was taking NERV so much to come and retrieve them, he heard his own stomach grumble for a few moments, cutely expressing his lack of nutrition. Swallowing dry, he spent a few minutes trying to figure out a way to move her, in order for him to check the survival kit for nutrition bars, all this without waking her up.

Finding none, he proceeded to Plan B: wake her up. Clearing his throat, he, with his right hand in her back, gave her a few pushes, to see if she would wake up.

Alas, 'tis couldst not be so easy. Biting his lower lip, and desperately praying that, worse than Rei be insulted by his arousal, his father didn't found out about their current situation, he lifted his left hand from her right knee, and caresses her right cheek, while murmuring her name. Several moments passed like this, with Shinji really not deciding whether this was the most close he could ever get to a peaceful moment or a nerve-wracking experience to a kid, until Rei, slowly, opened her eyes, never losing her contented smile. Blinking, and yawning, she too raised her head from his right shoulder and, asides the mournful feeling caused by the partial loss of warmth, intimacy, and confidence, both felt, she looked around herself, spending only an extra moment gazing at the internal clock. She then looked at him, gave a very faint smile, and asked

"Is there something wrong, Shinji? Are you feeling ill?" She then placed her left hand in his forehead and cheek.

Swallowing dryly, and trying to get rid of the blush, since by now it was a waste of time to try and 'lower' the temperature of certain physical parts, he said

"Rei, do you think you could move off of me? So that I could check your survival kit for something to eat or drink." She spent a moment just gazing at his eyes, and so it was difficult for him to keep his gaze on hers, before she leaned her head towards his front neck and... took a very deep breath. Did she smell him??

Blinking, he saw her straighten her body, causing him an inner struggle fighting for decency and respect, and keep his eyes away from any parts of her body below her neck. Then she got out of the seat, letting his chest breathe some fresh air, as such was possible within the capsule, and walked to the back of the seat, where she removed a blue case from a compact area. She opened it and removed a bottle with a transparent liquid within. She plucked opened the cap, and drank a bit of the liquid, all this with her leaning her head backwards and the bottle up. She then gave him the bottle, though it took him a few moments to realize it, because his sight and mind were transfixed on her lips and neck.

Licking his own lips, he too drank a bit, before lowering it, and asking

"So... now what?"

She replied, in a stoic, though warmer than a few months ago, tone

"We stay here. We're too far from the coast to reach it swimming without any clothing or bathing suit." She then approached the seat. Seeing this, he moved to the extreme right of the seat, leaving her the extreme left.

**Ohh** "Well... So, tell me, where were you born?"

She looked at him quickly, too quickly, as though she was surprised... or terrified of such a question. She kept a few more moments looking downward, before asking him, without raising her gaze

"If... if I disclose to you the truth, do you promise to remain as my... friend?"

Shinji, mystified, nodded. Several minutes passed without her saying anything, so Shinji placed his left hand on her left cheek, caressing it slowly, and said

"Yes, Rei. Regardless of what you tell me, I promise to be your friend. Now and always!"

She turned a quizzical gaze to him, so he answered her unspoken question

"You've saved my life twice, Rei. First, by duty, now by friendship. I owe you much, and such is a small way to repay you." He removed his hand from her cheek, and grabbed and squeezed her right hand, with his left. She talked then, and started by telling him that she was born in Terminal Dogma, in a small laboratory. She told him of her sires, of her mother being the same woman as his, and her father being the father of Angels. Before she knew it, she was revealing all she knew, all the Commander had told her, and all she reflected and concluded on her own. All the hidden truths, all the deceives, all the illusions man-and-angel made, everything. In the end, she was hugging him strongly, almost babbling and stuttering, not crying, but not speaking stoically, her words full of emotions of all type.

Shinji couldn't believe it... so many wrongdoings, sins practiced as common and casual as taking breakfast... And this girl in his arms... She was... his half-sister, but... also half-angel. Noticing that Rei had ceased talking, he swallowed and whispered

"Give me some time to think..." And so he did, he spent over fifteen minutes considering everything she told him. He asked

"What does fath- the Commander wants with all this? To change Mankind to something else?"

She replied, speaking low, against his upper torso

"No... He wants to reunite with Yui, our mother, his wife..."

Shaking his head a couple of times, and trying to get rid of the incoming migraine, he said to her

"Listen Rei, thank you for telling me all this. I thought that... that I only had father and an uncle as family but... Now you've presented me with something even better: You! I have you and a far-away uncle. Father, to me, died ten years ago. We're... half-siblings. And you're becoming someone I trust evermore. I'm not leaving you on your own Rei. Never!"

And so he hugged her, as strongly and as much as he could, shedding some tears, for the long-deceased father, and, more importantly, for his newfound friend, comrade, and sister in many things...

---

TBC

---

1- I'm just assuming that each EVA has a survival/first-aid kit somewhere in the plug, as well as going with the standard location for such underneath the seat.

2- Not that kind of pleasure!

---

AN: Yes, I realize this may seem quite the definition of an RxS, however, it isn't... Not yet, at least... At this time, the possibilities for SxAxRx(?) are quite open, and a matching, if one at all, remains undefined. Well, to me, sharing body warmth is an excellent way to fight hypothermia...

I was going to place here something more, a joke seen a lot of times, but that's going to appear in the next chapter, opening it up...

No beta-reader has proof-read this chapter.


	6. Interlude

Disclaimer: Check the Prologue.

---

AN: This is just an interlude, hence a short one. Oh and there's a goal with this chapter: lighten up and relax any wandering nerves...

To Ghost Man: Well, if you like movies with Mayhem and Mischief, along with Humour, then go for it, you won't be sorry... About your offer, I believe you've got credentials, and I'm honoured for such, but this fic doesn't need one... yet... But, thanks again for the offer, I'll make sure to keep you on my list **Smirks**

---

This is narrative.

"This is a dialogue."

"THIS IS SHOUTING."

'This is a quote/EMPHASIS made either during a dialogue or narrative.'

_These are thoughts._

**These are mouthed and facial expressions before, during, and after, a dialogue.**

This tells where and when the following happens.

(These will be Author Notes)

---

---

"Our fathers were our models for God. If our fathers bailed, what does that tell you about God?"

-Tyler Durden

Around 22:00

NERV HQ, Geofront

She didn't really like the Commander's orders. True, if she were in his place, she might've done something similar, but she isn't, so she allowed some rebellious spite to rise. Turning to Hyuga, relieved they had managed to wipe out the 11th Angel, she asked him to check the evacuated Entry Plugs signals. While waiting for reports, she let her gaze wander around, checking the Magi being lowered back into position. Turning to her left, she saw the bridge bunny, Maya, sit down in front of her console, and listen to some tapping behind her. She knew such; it served as a trademark signal for warning her that Ritsuko was approaching. Swivelling in the direction of the sounds, she saw Ritsuko coming to her, left hand holding several files and a clipboard, right hand massaging her own left shoulder.

Finally reaching her, she gave her long-time friend a smile and a weary nod. She then heard Hyuga

"We aren't receiving any signals, they're powered down."

Misato replied

**Oh** "Then we have to send a crew to retrieve them." She now heard a disgruntled female voice in the speakers that she knew all too well

"This is Pilot Sohryu, do you copy, NERV?" Smirking, Misato said, in an amused tone

"Good to see at least one of them remembered to use the emergency portable radio. Pressing a button in Hyuga's console, she said to Asuka

"Hey Asuka, how are you holding up?" Smiling, she expected nothing less than a fiery complaint.

"How do you think I am, sitting here naked, for over two hours now, with nothing to do?"

**Chuckles** "Sorry about that, but we had a problem here. I'll debrief you as soon as the three of you get back here. We're now sending a retrieval vessel to you. Any news on Shinji or Rei?"

"Nope. They're probably toying with each other over their own links!"

Now obviously amused by it, she told Hyuga to connect Asuka's feedback to the general speakers along with any transmission from the other two radios. She twisted a knob, set for Unit 01, and called Shinji for a minute. However, receiving nothing, she assumed he hadn't taken his radio from the emergency case. Now twisting the knob to Unit 00's, she called Rei. Almost a minute passed, before she heard the stoic voice of Rei Ayanami.

"Yes?"

"Hey Rei, this is Misato. How you're holding up there?"

A moment passed before she replied, strange thing, though, Misato could tell there was something wrong, for Rei's voice seemed... flustered.

Trying again, she said

"Say again Rei, what's your current state?" Expecting to hear an honest 'I am well', she was dishevelled by Rei's reply

"I am **Moan, Clears Throat** I am in a perfect state of being, Major Katsura— **Moan** don't bite so hard, Shinji..." Now this was something new – no, something nearly catastrophic! Gasping, she ripped off the ear set from Hyuga's right ear, and said, in a panicked tone

"Rei, report back, what's your current state!"

A few more intense moments passed, before she heard Rei's voice, now obviously in an epic, never seen before, state of mind and body

"I am well **Long Moan** Oh Shinji; I should've been informed earlier that you are an expert in this area... You'll have to come to my apartment soon, and give me a few lessons on Human Anatomy..." Her voice was slower than usual, almost as if she was dragging the words outside her mouth.

Swallowing dry, she shouted

"REI, IS SHINJI THERE WITH YOU?" She was afraid of any answer, right now. If it was a positive one, she would pummel Shinji to Kingdom Come, and set a full array of exams on Rei, to check for... If, on the other hand, it was a negative one, then Rei was in serious trouble, for she was either playing a prank on NERV, something unheard, unexpected, and practically impossible, or she had loosed a few bolts securing her brain, which would mean she would no longer be a viable EVA pilot. The reply was, really, so unlikely that she didn't believed it was his voice

"Misato, if **Quick intake of air** I'm a little – and here his voice was sounding as if he was choked – busy, so if you don't mind, we'll check back in **Satisfied Sigh** you're so tight, Rei... And your skin tastes so good... **Incoherent Murmur** And these are so soft and beautiful..." A few hearted moans and whispers were now coming out of the speakers.

Everybody in Central Dogma, was looking at the nearest speaker, mouths opened wide, eyes bugging out. And, in some certain cases, saliva was leaking and dripping to the floor.

Misato suddenly felt pushed aside by... Commander Ikari! Tearing the ear set from her right hand, he screamed

"REI, WHAT'RE YOU DOING?"

She wasn't sure what was worse, right now. The Commander was gripping, forcibly, Maya's chair, knuckles probably starting to bulge out, glasses lowered to the tip of the nose, and a facial expression of utter disbelief.

Rei, however, was not the one to answer

"Father, we're really busy here... **Ahhh** Yes, that's it Rei. There, lean to... Yes, that's good... **Uff** your legs in the way, allow me to just – and now female giggling was heard – So, you like this? Remind me to repeat this again to you later... - And now they heard both moan loudly at the same time. Now it was definitely worse, they were hearing, unmistakably, flesh heaving against flesh. Hearing a loud bass bump next to her, she looked at her left side, and saw the Commander on the floor, face in a shocked expression, and right hand grasping his upper left chest. She then heard Ritsuko shout for someone to call the paramedics. Turning to the speakers again, she was now hearing nothing, so she turned to Hyuga, who was frozen looking at the speaker. Pushing his shoulder twice, she asked him what had happened. Blinking and shaking his head a couple of times, he typed quickly in his console' keyboard, before replying

"They **Swallows Dryly** they turned off their radio, we can't hear them anymore..."

Passing a hand through her purple hair, she looked to Ritsuko, who was now making CPR with Maya at the Commander. Suddenly, looking at the Commander's desk, she saw only Fuyutski's legs, with his waist and upper body being concealed by the desk itself. Running to it, as well as hoping that the Commander and Vice-Commander would be lenient on the two, she started to prepare her speech to Shinji...

---

Unit OO's Entry Plug

What Hyuga didn't realize, was that Shinji and Rei hadn't turned off their radio, but muted it only. And now Shinji was laughing quite loudly, along with Rei giggling, joy permeating her body for learning several things about life, its pains and miseries, and its joys and merriments... And for paying back to Commander Ikari for all he had done to her...

---

Unit O2's Entry Plug

Unbeknownst to everybody, was Asuka curled up in her seat, without tears but also without any warm feelings. Feeling suddenly sunk and empty of all but frozen water, she sniffed and buried her head in her arms, before hearing loud laughing. Recognizing Shinji and Rei's voices hollering in laugh by her radio, she felt anger boiling in her, and then being replaced by a small smile and a content expression in her face. Whispering it, she said

"Bakas, can't believe I fell for this..."

---

TBC

---

AN: What? Nobody expected they were really making out, right?? **Sigh **Well, I warned in The Fourth Rule that the joke has been used around before... Several times, if my memory isn't failing... Credits and compliments go for their creator, not me...


	7. Fifth Rule

Disclaimer: Check the Prologue. Also, 'Payback' belongs to the band Flaw.

---

AN: Good to know that everybody enjoyed the Interlude. For the moment, though, things will still be going lightweight... On The Seventh Rule, however, the plot will thicken considerably, but, in this and the next chapter, all will be nothing more than preparation **Evil Grin**

---

This is narrative.

"This is a dialogue."

"THIS IS SHOUTING."

'This is a quote/EMPHASIS made either during a dialogue or narrative.'

_These are thoughts._

**These are mouthed and facial expressions before, during, and after, a dialogue.**

This tells where and when the following happens.

(These will be Author Notes)

---

---

"One fight at a time."

-Tyler Durden

Around 22:52

Central Dogma, NERV HQ, Geofront

It had been one hellish night, over at NERV. First, an Angel had infiltrated the Magi and tried to initiate a self-destruct. It hadn't been easy, but NERV, and mostly due and thanks to Ritsuko, had managed to defeat the Angel. Actually, they simply showed him that the only logical path was his own self-destruct.

It had been stressing, seeing time running out, and being powerless to stop him, but they had done it.

Cheering and congratulating the head scientist of NERV, they had tried to contact the EVA's Entry Plugs; Pilot Sohryu had copied their call and reported she was well. From Shinji's Plug, they never received a signal so, not worried since they had no reason to, they contacted Rei. They got her signal and she had told them she was well. Unfortunately, that was just the tip of the iceberg...

Within moments, they were hearing Rei's respiration increasing, not only in volume, but also in quantity. Of course, such wouldn't be too important, were not for the fact that Rei had spoken to Shinji directly, not through the radio. Still, while slightly troublesome, it wouldn't be all that bad. The Third Child would receive a lot of mixed calls from everybody when we would return, from honest and joyous congratulations to indignant and shameful shouts. But it didn't stop there...

They then heard the two of them, Rei and Shinji, talking to each other in such a way, that it indicated to anyone listening that they were currently participating together in a certain activity... One that should, and would, and is, forbidden for fourteen year-old kids.

Suffice it to say that the higher ranks from NERV did NOT like what they were hearing... The Commander suffered a cardiac arrest, which prompted the head scientist, Ritsuko Akagi, who had first shown surprise and then a grin, along with Maya, who had her jaw resting on the floor, to perform CPR on him. Needless to say that Ritsuko took care of the mouth-to-mouth while Maya made the external cardiac massage. The two of them, along with an emergency crew of paramedics, managed to resurrect the Commander. As for the Vice-Commander, Kouzou Fuyutski, he had passed out, due to oxygen being re-routed to other parts of the body and, therefore, ceased supplying critical areas. After five minutes with a paramedic doing a quick exam on him, he had been brought back to conscience unharmed. And Misato... First, she was gasping open-wide, eyes bugging out. Second, she was, apparently, preparing herself to fetch the Third Child and give him an intensive, crash-and-burn, fast course implicating severe head trauma and psychological violence... Then again, scratch this last statement, because it would involve also physical violence... But, at the last minute, while checking her pistol for ammo, her raging hormones must've subsided, for she had gained a pensive look. What she was reflecting about, though, remains unknown...

After the Commander took a few shots of, first, a transparent and, next, a golden liquid, he resumed his position, sitting on his desk in Central Dogma, in his own trademark stance, along with the Vice-Commander siding him, though the latter was adorning a weary expression all over his body...

Misato stood near the bridge bunnies, one half of her facing the Commander, the other facing the eastern door to bridge, with Asuka, in her Plug Suit, looking everywhere with a face of boredom. Then, the elevator doors swung open, revealing a small squad of NERV military operatives, properly dressed and armed of course, with, amidst them, the First and Third Child wearing their own Plug Suits, though, for Shinji, it shouldn't be very comfortable due to his bruises spread around his torso. They were escorted to the centre of the bridge, which showed, to their watchers, that the Third Children was handcuffed. He gave a saluting nod to Misato and Asuka and, along with Rei, turned their attention to the Commander, who was lightly frowning, which was so far, of course, unprecedented.

Everybody stood in silence for a minute, before Dr. Akagi reached the bridge, carrying a clipboard, which she surrendered to the Commander, who inspected it. Another minute passed, the silence unchanging, before the Commander addressed the two Pilots in front of him.

Oh, if only he would know that more shit would hit the fan before the night was over...

Not quite stoically, though such was not surprising anymore, the Commander stated

"The two of you consciously misinformed Commanding officers of your current status, intending to enjoy yourselves. Such is a grave offence. Do you have anything to say in your defence, Pilots?" The word 'defence' was stated through his gnawing teeth.

Shinji took a step forward, and said

"Yes, I do. I convinced Pilot Ayanami to participate in this. – And here he glanced at her – She is not to be accused about this, since the one to blame is solely me."

The Commander spent a moment staring his son in the eyes, before turning to Rei, and asking

"Is this true, Pilot?"

Rei looked down, for a few seconds, before lifting her gaze to Shinji, and seeing him lightly smiling at her. She then opened her mouth, but frowned and asked

"I do not know the best way to inform you, but, if you would allow, I would ask a favour at one of the technicians."

Frown never subsiding; the Commander gave her a nod. She, in turn, walked to the bridge technicians, and approached Aoba, who had a bandage on his nose. She murmured something in his left ear, to which Aoba replied with a smiling nod, and then she walked back to where she was before, next to Shinji, while Aoba worked on his console. A couple of minutes passed, curiosity rising in everybody who had been paying close attention to this, before Aoba swivelled in his chair in Rei's direction smiling, and said

"It's up." She glanced and gave him a nod, before turning her gaze to the Commander and saying

"The song will convey my thoughts better than I could." Aoba, now grinning, pressed a button in his console.

Surprise seemed to be the order of the day, because loud music started to blare in the speakers.

'There's another reflection involved up in my mind

A wholeness that has just been lost

Striving hard for perfection but still nothing to find

Some value with a cheaper cost

And as I reach out to hear you the sound is so muffled

It makes a lesser man of me

So the only thing left to bring up to date is

You suck!

Watch me fall while I go down,

I'm taking all you bastards to the ground with me, then I'll frown

On your fucking whole life

The systematic, hype still means a bit much to me

Watch me fall while I go down,

I'm taking all you bastards to the ground with me, then I'll frown

On your fucking whole life

The systematic, hype still means a bit much to me

I'm at the point of retraction and still slipping further

This place is getting worse for me

There's such a lack of direction and models to live by

No bright skies ahead of me

But I reach out for your hand you turn and then wander

Why I suddenly just can't see

No separation of gender no difference in me

You're just leading on and on and on

You lead me on and on and on

You lead me on and on and on and on,

on and on and on and on

on and on and on

Yes! You suck!

Watch me fall while I go down,

I'm taking all you bastards to the ground with me, then I'll frown

On your fucking whole life

The systematic, hype still means a bit much to me

Watch me fall while I go down,

I'm taking all you bastards to the ground with me, then I'll frown

On your fucking whole life

The systematic, hype still means a bit much to me

Pretty soon it's gonna come back and be your turn

Pretty soon it's gonna come back and be your turn

Pretty soon it's gonna come back and be your turn

Pretty soon you're gonna be the one that burns

Pretty soon it's gonna come back and be your turn

Pretty soon it's gonna come back and be your turn

Pretty soon it's gonna come back and be your turn

Guess what! You suck!

Watch me fall while I go down,

I'm taking all you bastards to the ground with me, then I'll frown

On your fucking whole life

The systematic, hype still means a bit much to me

Watch me fall while I go down,

I'm taking all you bastards to the ground with me, then I'll frown

On your fucking whole life

The systematic, hype still means a bit much to me

A bit much to me,

Your turn now!'

The music starting to fade, everybody stood, shock written all over their faces. Even the military officers. The only who weren't, were Shinji and Rei, both with a content smile, and Aoba who was smirking. As for the Commander, suffice it to say, he did not smile as well. Both gloved hands now against his desk, no longer sitting but standing, torso leaning forward, and a face of barely contained rage, he shouted to the soldiers to throw them in the brig. The two pilots simply turned to each other, and Rei, while caressing his left cheek with her right hand, leaned to him, and gave him a soft kiss in the right side of his face, which he replied respectively.

Now banging repeatedly on his desk, he shouted again for the soldiers to remove the pilots from his sight, with saliva being spitted from his mouth and adorning the desk, while pointing to the doors.

The military entourage and the pilots left the bridge silently, with everybody following them with their own gaze, and even some going as far as giving Rei some congratulations for her stance against the Commander.

As for Misato, she shook her head a couple of times, turned to Ritsuko, who was near her grinning as if she was in Heaven, and asked her if she could prescript her a jar of aspirins.

And as for Asuka, she was smiling, glad that Wonder Girl was breaking out from her doll-shell...

---

TBC

---

AN: I know this might seem exaggerated, Rei coming up with music of rebellion against Gendou, but it just seemed the best to me, so... **Sigh** Besides, I warned, twice so far, that they were going to become OOC...


	8. Sixth Rule

Disclaimer: Check the Prologue.

---

AN: The Muse has been very generous lately, visiting me so often with gifts about this... Still, if I were you, I wouldn't be too surprised, or angered, if several weeks pass before I update... The Seventh and Eighth Rules are going to be two bigger, in all terms, chapters, so...

Also, my thanks to Brax The Great, for pointing out grammar errors.

To nicknack: The song is from Flaw. If curious about them, visit http:(slash)(slash)www(dot)flaw(dot)com

---

This is narrative.

"This is a dialogue."

"THIS IS SHOUTING."

'This is a quote/EMPHASIS made either during a dialogue or narrative.'

_These are thoughts._

**These are mouthed and facial expressions before, during, and after, a dialogue.**

This tells where and when the following happens.

(These will be Author Notes)

---

---

"No shirts. No shoes."

-Tyler Durden

8:22

Tokyo-3 High-School

"... Well, look at the good side of things, at least one of us has managed to find female companionship outside his home, unlike us Touji. Heck, not even at home I have some, so I'm constantly in disadvantage, unlike you two."

"Yeah, yeah, keep bickering Kensuke. Just admit it; you don't have a girlfriend because you lack the guts for it. Nice soldier you would give one day..."

**HAH** "As if you're any better! Asides Mari, you don't have one for even a worst reason: you've already fallen for a girl!"

Now standing as stiff-straight as a board, Touji said

"WHAT? HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT..." Finally noticing their battle field was the classroom 2-A, and blush starting to form, he gulped in dry, quite forcibly, before turning to Kensuke and giving him a punch in his left arm. And a strong one at that, bearing clenched teeth. Kensuke, unprepared, lost balance and rammed against two desks, ending on the floor, with his limbs twisted and mixed, among the desks.

Touji, with a look of triumph, huffed, after puffing out his chest, and turned to his desk. However, his trek was immediately intercepted by the Class Rep., whom pulled his left ear up high. Now screaming in a high-pitched tone, while standing in his toes, he turned, slowly thanks to Hikari's firm grip, and tip-toed to Kensuke. Hikari released him, and said

"Now the two of you will arrange those desks. And Touji, you've just won class-cleaning today!"

Asuka, who had from the start of all this been on her seat, amusedly observing, said out loud to Hikari, much to the latter's chagrin (1)

"That means the two of you are going to be the last to exit the room. Nice move, Hikari, nice indeed..." By the end, she was mimicking Rei's pose, glancing outside, watching everything inside the room through the window's reflex.

Now Hikari was the one who was blushing, although quite a bit stronger than Touji. Surprise and betrayal-hurt being replaced by a fake innocent expression, Hikari threw a comment sarcastically

**Oh** "That's right, I forgot today it was the two of us working late. I doubt, though, that you'll complain. Especially Shinji, considering you've been his private nurse, always keeping him under surveillance. Wonder why, though..."

Asuka, now sticking with a smile, simply nodded and stretched her arms, silently announcing her defeat to Hikari and the rest of the class.

Kensuke, nearing his seat, asked Asuka, while rubbing his arm

"So, where's Shinji?"

Asuka, sparing him a glance, answered slightly bothered

"They won't be coming for two or four months, at least."

Touji, curious, asked while sitting on his desk

"Why?"

Asuka, now looking at the ceiling, said

"It's confidential. However, let's just say the two played a prank on NERV, and now they'll be paying the fee for it in NERVs cells."

Now with most of the class, well those who had arrived so far, expecting her to tell their deeds, she simply raised an eyebrow, and said

"If the Commander finds about this, I'll be joining Wonder Girl in her cell... - Out loud – We had been running a test in our Plugs, when NERV evacuated us to the lake. We stood there for hours, waiting for them, when Misato contacted us. I answered their call and warned them I was bored and pissed, before they tried to contact Shinji. He didn't answered, so they, logically, assumed that, being the baka he is, never found nor remembered to activate his own radio. When they contacted Rei... First she answered well, but then Shinji's voice came up in her transmission, and then the two of them acted as if they were making out in Rei's Plug, with moans and wild screams from both. Suffice to say that the Commanders didn't like it one bit..."

Kensuke, now amazed beyond limits, asked

"But, what about the video-feed? Couldn't they take a look inside the Plugs and find out they were joking?"

"Nope, due to the nature of the test, NERV had the Plug's cameras offline permanently."

"But they were just joking, right?" asked Hikari, slightly edgy.

Asuka, smirking, replied

"Well, I don't know... The things they were saying and moaning... **Tsk** Sounded very real to me... How was it Shinji said... - Now making her voice more manly – 'Oh Rei, these are so soft and beautiful' and he sounded as if he meant it, so..." Finishing it with a shrug and a smile, Asuka mentally congratulated herself when she saw that the class was flabbergasted.

Touji, truly amazed, asked

"That's it? Kind of stupid for NERV to lock them up just for this..."

Asuka, half-smiling and with mischievous eyes, said

"No, that wasn't all. After they got us out of the Plugs, we were taken to the Bridge, and those two faced the Commander. Shinji told him that he had convinced Rei to do this with him, and that he was the only one to blame. The Commander, in turn, asked Rei if such was true. Rei, instead of saving her own ass, just went to one of the technicians and asked him to play one music out loud."

Kensuke, intrigued, asked Asuka what music was it, to which Asuka simply told them it was a music telling the Commander to shove his glasses where the sun didn't shone...

---

Commander's Office, NERV HQ, Geofront

Gendo was lying on his chair with his coat buttoned open, legs stretched out with his shoes near him, left arm dangling and his right hand holding a bag of ice on his forehead, with his glasses and gloves resting on the desk.

Kouzou entered the office, though he wasn't looking much better. Approaching the desk, he said

"I take it that our plans have suffered a major setback with this... incident."   
Gendo, not moving, replied in an exhausted tone

"Indeed... According to Akagi, our memory banks of the Dummy Plug are already 'infected'. If we terminate the Second and create a Third now, she'll be the same."

Kouzou, surprised, stated

"Then we have to start it from the very beginning."

Gendo, now clearly angered, replied

"We don't have a timetable available for this. Leliel will appear soon. We need to have an operable Rei when he shows up."

Kouzou, now with a defeated expression on his face, said

"Then it seems we're in SEELE's hands for a while..."

Gendo, still not moving, concurred only with a hum...

---

Akagi Ritsuko's Office

Taking another drag from her cigar, Ritsuko could do little more than smile at her ceiling. Grinning as if she had just won an arm's wrestle with an Angel, she used her left foot to make her chair spin.

Seeing the ceiling's lights forming a circle around her, she made a mental note, so that she could remember to give Shinji something nice as a gift, as a reward, for his recent actions... That and buy a dress or two for Rei as well... Revealing, cut-open dresses, preferably...

Now with a grin from ear to ear, she gave a stronger push with her left foot, spinning with her chair, not stopping with the dizziness...

---

NERV's Cells Quarters

Giving a nod to the guard standing outside Shinji's cell, who had a light bruise underneath his left eye; Aoba opened the door, and stepped inside.

The cell was completely dark, the only light coming now from the corridor. Hearing the shuffling of clothes, he looked at the bunk, and saw Shinji come to the light. Smiling, he said

"Shigeru, I need two favours from you. – Aoba agreed with a nod – First, check Rei and tell her guards to take good care of her; second, I want you to gather as much as possible about NERV, all kinds of information you can get. I'm working a plan here..."

Shigeru, half-confused, asked

"What kind of plan?"

Shinji, smirking, replied

"Anything related with taking out NERV and SEELE!"

"SEELE? Who're they?"

"They're the funds behind NERV. I'll explain everything to you as soon as I leave. It won't be easy, and I'm gonna need the help from our 'friends'. Just believe me when I tell you my plan is justifiable."

Shigeru, curious about his reasons, agreed, and left the cell. Giving a nod to the guard outside, he went to Rei's cell.

Reaching it, he addressed the guard, who was someone he had met last night, and told him to treat Rei well.

He then went back to the bridge, already mentally mapping the works of NERV and the best way to get them. He had no idea what was this all about, why Shinji wanted to eliminate an organization who protected mankind, but, conceding doubt to everything, he told himself that, whatever it was, the least he could do was give it a shot and check it out...

---

TBC

---

1- Yes, I do know they're best friends, but such naughty and back-stabbing things can be expected from any couple. And yes, I speak for self-experience...

---

AN: My apologies for being shorter than the previous, but it were necessary, because of the cliff-hanger. So, as you can see, the final showdown between the heroes and villains is coming soon. The Seventh Rule will be the culmination of preparations and schemes, and The Eighth Rule will be the epic battle of Shinji against Gendo. Son vs. Father :) Just don't expect something open, like members of the Fight Club assaulting NERV with tanks, but something very subtle, almost invisible, with only an epic final.


	9. Seventh Rule

Disclaimer: Check the Prologue.

---

AN: In this chapter, the 12th, Leliel, will appear. All will proceed as in the episode, with Gendo being absent. Well... almost everything **Sweat-drop**

To Laser Crusader: Actually, two chapters, this included, and an epilogue. After that, it will be a sequel, named 'Ends up owning you!', where we'll see Shinji and company get rid of the rest of the Angels and SEELE. However, I can't give teasers, since I haven't yet written the Eighth Rule and Epilogue, so I bear only vague notions, motions, and concepts for it....

---

This is narrative.

"This is a dialogue."

"THIS IS SHOUTING."

'This is a quote/EMPHASIS made either during a dialogue or narrative.'

_These are thoughts._

**These are mouthed and facial expressions before, during, and after, a dialogue.**

This tells where and when the following happens.

(These will be Author Notes)

---

---

"Fights will go on as long as they have to."

-Tyler Durden

One week later

Central Dogma, NERV HQ, Geofront

"So, how's Shinji doing?"

"Here, see this."

**Humm** Opening a com link to Asuka, she said

"You're still on the top Asuka, but you better be careful, Shinji's nearing yours."

"As if that baka could ever pass mine!" Misato turned the com link off, and turned to Maya

"Alright, I think that's it for today. – Turning to Ritsuko, she saw her nod- Go ahead and end the tests."

Maya then opened a com link to the three pilots and told them it was enough. Seeing each giving her a nod, in Asuka's case a bored-out-of-her-mind nod, she ended the exams. However, just before Shinji's Plug being offline, she caught something. Calling Maya, she told her to check it.

"Just before 01's Plug was offline, his rate had a stable spike."

Misato, bent over the console, saw indeed that, just for a moment, Shinji's rate had surpassed Asuka's. Intrigued, Misato said

"Check Rei's."

Maya changed the graph to Rei's, and said

"No changes."

Misato, biting softly her lower lip, turned to Ritsuko, whom responded in an amused tone

"Maybe some good memories jumped at the last minute. It's not surprising, seeing who he lives with." Now smirking, Ritsuko went to another console. Misato, with a very small scowl, exited the bridge, trying to remember the nearest bathroom.

---

Female Locker Room, NERV HQ, Geofront

Asuka, with a very satisfied smile and bright eyes, gazed at Rei, whom was removing her plug suit. Curiosity enticed to ask her what had happened last week on her plug, however, pride kept holding her facial muscles, in order to prevent her of being even remotely nice to Rei. Turning again to her locker, she sighed. _How come Rei's so lifeless, like a doll? ... Then again, she's no longer a doll... Is she? _Turning again to Rei, whom had her bare waist and torso uncovered, she asked, with a stoic voice

"So, tell me, it must've not been very nice, being naked with Shinji, whom was also naked, on your plug. What happened there?"

Rei, only turning her head partially to Asuka, replied

"We... I did something... new, something prohibited. Comparatively, my reservoir broke, and all the still water within was freed... - She rested her left palm over her upper left chest, though Asuka only saw Rei's arm raising, due to her body still be facing completely her locker- You would not, can not, understand, because it is something you have never done with anyone." Asuka, now clearly pissed with this entire philosophical speech, replied in an angry tone

"Well, you're right; I've been protecting my womanhood, unlike you!"

Rei, now turned just an inch, replied, in a sad tone

"You lock yourself away from everybody. You do not allow anyone to enter nor grasp your soul, presenting to everyone, even yourself, your masks."

"What are you talking about? **Pfff** You're the one who doesn't understand anything!"

Rei, now back to her initial pose, facing completely her own locker, murmured

"Indeed, we do not understand anything, because they don't want us to. But we're changing; Shinji and I are freeing ourselves from their... shackles."

Asuka, with an eyebrow risen, said, in a mocking tone

**Oohhh** "And here are two slaves, fighting for freedom! – and now with a mocking face as well – Do warn me when the epic battle begins, so that I can join you!"

Rei, whose façade was full of pity, said

"A certain individual said 'We've been all raised on television to believe that one day we'd all be millionaires and movie gods and rock stars. But we won't. We're slowly learning that fact. And we're very, very pissed off.'"

Asuka, blinking, asked

"Who said that?"

However, due to the alarms blaring, her answer never came...

---

Tokyo-3

"The DATA of the target is this. It's all we have. Approach carefully to test his reaction. If possible, take him away from the urban area. One of you advances while the others give cover. Do you copy?"

"Hey Misato, this one's mine." Asuka's tone full of confidence was somewhat expected. What wasn't, though such was changing due to past actions, was Shinji voicing his concern

"Be careful Asuka. I'll give cover."

"I will provide cover as well."

The three EVAs advanced towards the Angel, Unit-00 with a Positron rifle, Shinji with a Handgun, and Asuka with an Axe. Several minutes passed, with the only sound being the EVAs footsteps. Asuka, finally reaching the Angel, covering behind a building, checked her radar, for confirmation of the other's positions. Rei was near, around 400 meters to her left, opening a vid-link; she saw that Unit-00 was standing in the middle of the street, with her rifle pointing the Angel. Then, she checked Shinji, her radar telling her that he was behind her, around 160-to-170 meters, and slightly to her right. Opening another vid-link, she saw that he had his right-side leaning against a building, handgun held by both hands, pointing downwards. Smirking, she addressed Shinji and Rei

"Alright, let's start this. I'll initiate the attack, going melee. Ayanami, Shinji, stay where you two are. I doubt I'll need you to help me, so just stand, watch, and drool!"

Not receiving any confirmation from them, nor waiting for it, she held the Axe with both hands, right near the blade and left on the lower end, and jumped to her right, standing right in front of the Angel. Preparing herself to dive the blade deep in the middle of the Angel's body, she was somewhat surprised when she heard three high-bass sounds. Looking at her back, she saw Shinji, around 70-80 feet away from her, handgun pointing the Angel. Then, hearing gasps over the links, she directed her attention to the Angel, but he wasn't there anymore.

Suddenly, feeling a strange coldness in her feet, she looked down, but all she saw was pure black surrounding her. She then swung the Axe at it, because she was now sinking in this new puddle of darkness.

First it was frustration, for not being capable of slaying the Angel, then panic because she had sunk beyond her knees, and couldn't run nor jump away from him. She then heard, over the link

"ASUKA!"

Looking up, she saw a purple hand. Focusing, she saw that Shinji had his own left fist and both feet driven in the building, where she had been covering behind, and right hand outstretched to her. Not hesitating, she grabbed it, discarding the Axe, with her right hand, and grabbed his forearm with her left hand. Pulling herself, she wasn't going fast enough, for now she sunk by her waist. Then, she heard another shout from him

"ASUKA, GET READY!" She then felt herself being pulled out from the black sea, and, much to her joy, soared in the air long and high enough to grab the roof of the building. Climbing it, she looked at her back, and saw that now it was Shinji the one whom was being engulfed by the black sea. He was lying down, the EVA's face looking at her, when she heard

"GO, ASUKA! JUMP FROM BUILDINGS TO BUILDINGS AND GET TO A SAFE AREA!"

Out of the blue, she heard a very deep sound on her right. Turning towards it, she saw, just for the duration of a quick moment, Unit-00 crouching, and then jumping, managing to embrace Unit-01. Instead of losing one pilot, they were now losing two.

Gritting her teeth, she saw the form of the two EVAs disappear completely, before jumping to the nearest building... (1)

---

Two hours later

The Sea of Dirac

Since entering this white space, where theunknown ruled supreme, the two pilots had been communicating with each other with their portable links, so not to exhaust the EVA's power source.

"... Rei, can I ask you something?" Asked Shinji, tone carrying doubt.

"Of course, brother." (2) Rei's tone, though, was more jovial.

"Tell me, what do you know about NERV?"

Intrigued, Rei asked

"I do not understand, have I not told you all?"

Fighting the demonic impatience, Shinji explained

"Yes, but... It's just that I need to find as much as I can about NERV. The best I know, the easier it will be to pull her plug."

Now clarified, Rei stated

"Weaknesses! You wish to know her weaknesses."

"Yes."

"When do you plan to carry it out, brother?"

"As soon as possible!"

Confused, and worry seeping her soul, she inquired

"But, what about the Angels? Seventeen Angels, from which fifteen will try to reunite with Adam, and if we fail to defeat them, a Third Impact will be caused, and we will not survive it."

Now, Shinji was talking with confidence, something that was becoming usual

"Wrong Rei, there's always a way. Take our situation as an example!"

"No, we will not be rescued. We will die in our Plugs, when the batteries run out." Pessimism was practically palpable, with Rei's statement.

"Nope, somehow, we will get out of this one. I'll bet whatever you want on it!" Actually, Shinji did sounded like he was ready to make a bet.

"How?"

"Just look at our past confrontations! We've been winning all this time, against all odds and expectations, never mind the possibilities for some of the near-miracles we pulled in battle." Though Rei didn't saw it, Shinji actually banged his left palm against his seat.

"Are you not simply refusing to admit the truth?"

"Nope, I'm just holding on to life. Because, after all I've been through so far, I'm not going to just quit, and wait for an Angel to take me to Kingdom Come."

Resignation was now the main theme of Rei's phrase. Unavoidable resignation.

"I... I do not possess such determination, such... courage..."

"Why not? What's stopping you, sister?"

Murmuring, Rei tried to explain

"I... I do not know... Fear would be the most logical presumption..."

**Chuckles** "That reminds me a quote from an old movie. How was it? **Ah** 'Fear is the mind-killer!' (3) What they forgot to mention, is that fear is also the best proof we're alive in the first place!"

"Yes... 'The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear'..."

"'And the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.' (4) Nice quote Rei, and one that I agree with completely."

"And one that concurs and contradicts your statement! – Now Rei's voice was bearer of resolve - Such as fear is an emotion that proves that we are still alive and, relatively speaking, sane, it is also 'the reap before the whirlwind'." (5)

**Giggle** "Today, you're on a quoting mood... Tell me something, has it ever happened to you doing something usual, a part of your daily routine, and, during it, have a ridiculous, unexpected, idea and will to perform such?"

Spending several moments reflecting, Rei replied

"... Yes."

"Is it constant? The event when it occurs?"

"...Yes. I do not understand, what is your point?" Now she was definitely intrigued with what Shinji wanted in this direction of the conversation.

"My point is, Rei, that, in your inner hidden self, you wish to do something that nobody expects you to. You want to change, and your soul is crying out for it, forming images and concepts to express it! I passed through the same, and I changed. I took the initiative... Why don't you try to do the same? I guarantee that you won't regret it! You might not like of what you change into, but just the act of trying to change will calm your spirit a lot! And it's worth the time and energy, this I speak for self-experience..."

Biting softly her lower lip, she reflected upon all they had just talked about. _To change would give me... I do not know what would give me, but... But the sacrifice of self-ignorance is worth the act of trying... But what of the repercussions? ... The Commander would not appreciate, nor allow me to... He would dispose of me... NO! He cannot, otherwise he would've done so already! ... Why the wait? Why? ... Perhaps..._ Now, with resolve conquering a dominant position within her, she asked

"Could you... Would it be possible for me to take such significant changes now? The Commander keeps vigilant around me, to take such rebellious tactics would certify a termination sentence. I am restrained of such..." At her final phrase, sadness was permeating her voice, no doubt in her soul as well.

Shinji, however, wasn't backing out so easily.

"Even Section-2 takes breaks, every now and again. Usually they change shifts every hour, hour-and-a-half. Look, all we have to do is keep the mask to deceive him, like he does with us! **Chuckles** As much as I hate it, Rei, my blood is his blood as well, if he can make plans of such magnitude, then so can I!"

Smiling softly, she said

"So I see... Well, if you really think the best to do is to end with the Human Complementarity's Plan, you will indeed need to know all about NERV..."

---

14 Hours later

Tokyo-3

"The back-up power from the Entry Plugs are nearing zero." Hyuga was keeping a close call on several parameters, now that the heavy-bombardment mission was about to start.   
Maya confirmed it, by reading a chronometer they had set earlier.

"The survival system of the Plug Suits must be in the red area."

"Let's forward the plan by twelve minutes. This might give us a chance of rescuing Shinji and Rei." Misato could tell, just by her tone and expression that she didn't really was expecting to get Shinji alive and breathing away from the Angel.

"EVA in position."

"Prepped to generate AT Field."

"Roger."

"60 seconds for bombardment."

Suddenly, the black area, which composed the Angel, started to rumble and shake quite visibly, with red cracks forming, all along it. Ritsuko, clearly not expecting such performance, was trying to figure out what was going on.

"What's this? Has it begun already?"

"Status!" Misato barked. She couldn't lose control of the current situation. With any luck, it would give them a chance to pull Shinji and Rei out of the Sea of Dirac.

"Nothing!"

"The gages went mad!"

"But we haven't done anything!" Disbelief was all over Ritsuko's face and words. Despite such, this was more than enough for Misato to feed the small ember of hope in her heart.

"Then Shinji's..."

Ritsuko wasn't buying, however, the probability of the two entrapped pilots finding a way to get out.

"Impossible! The energy of theUnits arenull!"

Now, a new large crack had appeared in the Angel's round, mono-chromatically striped, shadow, and, a few moments later, a large hand had burst open from within. A second followed the first, with, afterwards, the two hands each grasp a side of the crack, and force it wide open. A horned head came, covered in blood, with the body following. And it wasn't coming alone. Over the Unit-01's left shoulder, it had Unit-00, with its armoured legs limping, and torso and arms leaning against the purple behemoth's back. Exiting by complete of the remains of the Angel's shadow, Unit-01 stood upright, before lowering Unit-00 to the ground, leaving it there. Then, she howled, as a primal beast warning all that surrounded her, of her victory. After its winning battle-cry, it collapsed, falling face-first to the ground.

---

Several hours later

The Commander's Office, NERV HQ, Geofront

There stood Ritsuko and Gendo, just the two of them, in his office, with Gendo at his desk, and Ritsuko standing in front of it, holding a clipboard with her left hand. She addressed him, her voice carrying a certain type of fear

"I've never felt such horror, like seeing an EVA like this! Are they really on our side? And what if one day they hate us? Major Katsuragi might comprehend certain things."

"That is correct." Gendo, though, didn't seem preoccupied with such.

"If Rei and Shinji ever find out the secrets of the EVAs, they'll never forgive us." Some will find ironic, such statement, in the near future, after Shinji's rebellion against his father. (6)

---

Three days after Leliel's attack

Katsuragi/Ikari/Sohryu Residence

"... I'll be back in a minute, Misato." Shinji exited the apartment, closing the door. He then approached the elevator, when he snapped his own right fingers, along with his mouth opened. Turning to the stairs, he descended to the first floor, where he left the stairs. Now standing in another corridor leading to several apartments of the first floor, he leaned against the staircase's door. A few moments passed, before he heard

"Hey Shinji, everything's alright with you?" Turning towards the voice, he saw Aoba heading to him, carrying a backpack of intense volume. Intense and, apparently, heavy.

Shaking hands, they sit on the floor, where Shinji told Hyuga what were NERV and SEELE's plans for the future, after the Angel Wars. Aoba, agreeing that they should be impeded, asked what could be done, to which Shinji replied, in an amused tone

"We cut off their power supplies. Actually, better stated, 'Cut off the head and the body dies!' That's what we're going to do; we'll cut off their heads and leave their bodies tumble and roll on the floor." Disbelief starting to show on Aoba's face, he asked Shinji what did he meant with that.

Shinji, smiling, simply asked him if he could find out every major compound and facility belonging to SEELE...

---

TBC

---

1- Before accusing me of plagiarism, please bear this with me, because this situation calls such. Originally, I was going for Shinji only, but, after re-reading it, I came to realize that, this way; it would improve the plot, especially the next chapter.

2- I've used the term 'brother' and 'sister', precisely because my knowledge of the Japanese language is short, at best. So, to prevent any insult and/or embarrassment, I'm sticking with the English.

3- From the movie 'Dune', by David Lynch.

4- By H.P. Lovecraft, in 'Supernatural Horror in Literature'.

5- 'You called down the thunders, now reap the whirlwinds.' This phrase I don't know who created it, I just know it's very used around the globe...

6- When re-reading it, I couldn't help myself remembering the Star Wars saga, with Luke against Anakin **Large Sweat-drop**

---


	10. Eighth Rule

Disclaimer: Check the Prologue.

---

AN: First, I would like to present my apologies. I was heading towards an epic finale with little or no battle, but… I've changed my mind! No, we won't see JSSDF or the MP EVAs make an appearance… My apologies are also directed towards the lack of preparations I didn't place in The Seventh Rule, with Shinji rallying his men and stuff, in order to (try to) create some suspense. However, I don't think it was for the best now… **Sigh** Oh well, you be the judge, dear reader…

Finally, this is a tad bit bigger than the previous chapters, so it might be a good idea to assure yourselves that you have enough time for it… Just for the record, in MS Word, it's 11 pages (12 with the AN), text in size 12 and justified.

To nicknack: Yes, I made another mistake for not describing the whys. My bad, so, in the dire hope for forgiveness, this chapter is starting with it.

To blazork: Well, I respectively noted the movie, because I STILL haven't read the book (though it's on my list)…

---

This is narrative.

"This is a dialogue."

"THIS IS SHOUTING."

'This is a quote/EMPHASIS made either during a dialogue or narrative.'

_These are thoughts._

**These are mouthed and facial expressions before, during, and after, a dialogue.**

This tells where and when the following happens.

(These will be Author Notes)

---

---

"If this is your first night at Fight Club you have to fight."

-Tyler Durden

Four Days After The Previous Chapter

18:58

Katsuragi/Ikari/Sohryu Residence

The mellow sound of the cello kept bouncing against every wall in the living room, always departing from Shinji, but, ultimately, always returning to him, thanks to him, and Section-2, by keeping the house locked and closed… However, if one would peek his inner-self, one would discover that, in whole, the only effort Shinji had in his playing, were the fingers following a random rhythm, for his brain was busy. Busy with stopping NERV and SEELE's egotistical and maniacal attempt to elevate Humankind to a higher level. At the beginning, he wouldn't oppose. Who knows, it might present everyone the unique chance for complete understanding of the entire world. However, if one would read the exceedingly minute letters at the bottom-end of the contract of evolution, one would read 'All personal and intimate desires, as well as emotions, will be removed!' … Yes, indeed such would be. The ultimate problem with the absolute perfection is boredom! And Third Impact, and its dire consequences, would be no different. There would be no more individuality, no more separate minds. All would be one, billions of humans would, simply, cease to exist, and all would form one, and only one, being, one omniscient, omnipresent conscience, upon the planet, which would be littered with ruins of the civilization Mankind had formed, perfected, and kept, at all times… Littered with the haunting ghosts from before, from when an individual could feel some sort of an emotion… From when an individual could still feel alive, ever close to Death's grasp, and ever fighting it, just to breathe one last time… From when an individual could smile or cry, could feel lucky or honoured for sharing intimate moments with his partner or loved one, or for feeling unworthy or devastated when hearing the phone call, or reading the letter, telling him that they were no longer a couple…

No, NERV and SEELE had to be stopped. Defending Mankind from the utter annihilation by the Angels was one thing, but this… This was far too much to even be categorized.

**TWAANGG** Snapping his head up, he blinked rapidly, and looked at his cello, where he saw that his line of thinking had made him break a cord. Laughing, he rested the cello on the floor, and rose. Stretching his limbs and torso, he went to his bedroom, where, rifling through his closet, he took out a small carton package, and removed a new cord. Holding it, he returned to the chair in the living room, where he sits down, picks up his cello, and replaces the broken cord.

Attuning the cello by ear, he spends a few moments enthralled by the tunes. Suddenly, he hears the apartment door opening itself. He then hears several familiar voices, further prompting his attention. He sees Asuka enter, with Hikari siding her, both followed by Kensuke and Touji. Kensuke, diverting his attention to him, says

"Hey Shinji, everything's all right with you?" which was followed by a barbed remark from Touji, though it pointed to another theme.

"Oy Shinji, I understand you don't want to get out of here, thanks to Misato, but living with a red-headed demon like **OUCH** – now with Hikari holding his right ear, he said, on a more subdued tone- Come on, Class Rep., we're no longer in class!"

Hikari, smirking, replied

"That doesn't stop me from defending a friend, does it?" By her last two words, though, her tone had gained strength, therefore stating her dominance, much to Touji's chagrin.

Shinji, smiling, said

"Strange, Touji, I thought you didn't mind when she would do that."

Hikari, confused, asked him what he meant, though, by Touji's panicked look, one could foretell Shinji's answer.

"You know what I mean. – Shinji was making a circular motion with his index finger, along with a gradual raise from his eyebrows – Seriously, all things considered; I never thought he would mind you tou-" Shinji, however, was not able to end his statement, due to Touji tackling him to the ground, cello and chair included.

Touji, on top of Shinji, used both hands to cover his mouth, and whispered at Shinji's ear

"One word and you'll regret it!" He then, slowly, raised his hands from his mouth, which allowed Touji to see that Shinji was smiling, with his dark blue eyes full of glee. Now a bit confused about it, he was going to ask, but was impeded by a swift smack on the back of his head, by Hikari, of course.

"Enough, Touji. Have you no shame doing this to a friend?"

Touji, rubbing the area hit with his left hand, raised his gaze to Hikari, whom was very 'VERY' close to him. Needless to say, that both Touji and Hikari remained in their position, gazing into each other's eyes, with a grinning audience.

Hikari, hearing someone clears her throat quite loudly, blinks, and notices what she was doing. Straightening herself, she looks down, at her own shoes, and looks to Asuka, whom was grinning like the Cheshire cat. Actually, Asuka, Shinji, and Kensuke, were adorning such facial expressions…

Taking a few steps back, with a heavy blush covering her cheeks, she watches Touji get off from Shinji, whom was also blushing quite strongly. Shinji, rubbing his sore stomach, picks up the chair and cello and puts them in an appropriate position. Asuka, shaking her head, while grinning, grabs Hikari's right hand, and drags her to her bedroom, thus leaving the Three Stooges in the living room. Shinji goes to the kitchen, while pointing to the balcony of the apartment. Kensuke nods and goes to it, Touji following him, still with a blush in his face.

Shinji opens the refrigerator, and takes three soda cans, and heads to the balcony. He opens the glass door, and steps outside, joining his two friends, Touji leaning against the wall, and Kensuke sit on a fake-wood chair. Giving a soda to each, he leans against the parapet. Touji, lightly scowling, said

"Damn, Shinji, I don't need to be humiliated in front of her…"

Shinji, with a fake-innocent smile, replied

"Look at the good side, at least she'll know that you reciprocate her feelings for you!"

Touji, looking at the floor, nods slowly, while drinking from his can, before halting, can still in his lips, and looks forward rapidly, spitting the juice he had been drinking, thus causing him to choke. Touji, now bent over, asks Shinji, along with furious coughing

"What **COUGH, COUGH** what do you mean, 'reciprocate'?" **COUGH**

Kensuke, smiling condescendingly while shaking his head, answers

"Even I have figured out that Hikari likes you! Will you just open your eyes, and ask her out on a date?"

Touji, coughing subsided, walks to the parapet, and spends a few moments gazing in silence at the scenery, before turning to Shinji, with an inquisitive look, to which Shinji replied with a serene smile and a confident nod. Touji licks his lips, and asks, while looking at the sky

"Alright, does anyone know a good restaurant for a date?" which elicited a pair of triumphant smiles from his buddies. Shinji, smiling, said

"I'll ask Misato, she must know some…"

Kensuke, now with a conniving grin, asked Shinji

"Yes, from what we've heard, Shinji, you'll be wanting to do that. Actually, Touji, you might even form-up a double date: you with Hikari, and Shinji with Rei!"

Shinji displayed a look of confusion, while Touji was now bearing a wolfish grin.

"What do you mean, Kensuke? I and Rei are not dating each other!"

"Are you sure, Shinji? From what the Demon told us and the rest of the class, you and Rei are getting along together quite well…"

Shinji, with an arched eyebrow, asked

"She told you about the, so-called, 'incident' Rei and me 'provoked' at NERV?" to which the two Stooges answered with a grinning nod.

Shinji, still leaning against the parapet, took several deep breaths, before he replied, with a somewhat-exhausted voice

"Look, in another scenario, I wouldn't mind a bit, becoming Rei's boyfriend, but… But she doesn't need one, yet! No, right now, what she needs most is a best friend, someone to trust, not a lover… I'm leaving any intimate relations with her to the possible future…"

Kensuke, with a tone carrying either intrigue or concern, asked him

"Why? What's wrong with her, right now?"

Shinji replied with a negative shake of his head, followed by his right index finger leaning against his pressed-lips…

---

22:04

Katsuragi/Ikari/Sohryu Residence

"Misato, I'm taking the garbage outside!" Shinji exits the apartment, carrying a medium-sized brown plastic bag. He heads to the elevator, which he calls, and spends a minute, facing the doors, humming. The doors open, he enters, and presses the button for the ground level. He leans against the wall, opposite of the doors, and watches the numbers of the floors receding, descending. Almost another minute passes, before the elevator doors open again, he exits the elevator, and walks through the entry door of the building, waves to several posts of Section-2, and goes to the back of the building, therefore reaching the garbage-disposal location, where he lowers his bag, in the small vacant space for Misato's apartment. He was turning to head back to the apartment, when he saw an envelope attached to one of the walls of this space. Crouching, he grabs it, and retrieves a small letter inside. Positioning himself so that he didn't cast shadows to the letter, he reads its text to himself, which conveyed

"Shinji, everything's ready! Everybody agrees that NERV and SEELE must be stopped! Your plan is being carried out as you read this: I've managed to get trustworthy personnel to sabotage the Phi (1) Objective, in all SEELE's locations. The end is the same; however the means will depend to each, due to impossibility to acquire the weapons you deemed best. As for ours, the Triad has been prepared. Also, Psi and Omega's (1) Objectives have been found. Psi will be waiting for you, in your Cage. Omega is stationed in Terminal Dogma. Ayanami knows it; she's already been there before. As for our means to carry it out, I and a couple of others have created a program to protect you and give you and Ayanami some time to act. Just twenty to thirty seconds, but it should be enough, considering the Goals of this operation. The program will initiate in a time-set, but it should be no problem for Dr. Akagi to terminate it. Upon such, I will activate our Phi Objective myself, don't worry for its backups; I have placed several explosive devices, linked to the others, in their safeguard location. This reminds me, in three days from now, at 16:00, 'training' in a virtual-scenario will take place. We believe this is the most appropriate time to set the Plan in motion. All our other members have been notified, and they will act at the same time as us. As one, NERV and SEELE will lose its head! Before I forget, two men will be in place, in Terminal Dogma, waiting for either you or Ayanami, or both, for you to proceed with the Omega Objective. During the stage, they'll help you reach a safe location before completion of the same. Finally, as for the Chi (1) Objective, we have managed to get Ibuki to complete it for us. She doesn't know what she'll be doing, and by the time she does; it will already be too late to stop it. Hopefully, all four concluded objectives will prevent NERV and SEELE from initiating a Third Impact. I'll see you in three days from now. Until then… P.S.: Ayanami has already been briefed, like you, on the timetable! P.S.S.: Needless to tell you that you have to destroy this letter!"

Shinji, openly grinning, laughed for a moment, and then swallowed the letter, hoping that the ink wouldn't give him any intestinal problems…

---

Three days later

Female lockers, NERV HQ, Geofront

_I can't let that baka-hentai score's surpass mine… Never_… With a committed look on her face, Asuka took off her clothes, preparing herself for the training in a staged-scenario to be occurred shortly. She then heard Rei's inquisitive voice

"Pilot Sohryu, can I ask you something?"

Asuka, raising only an eyebrow, hummed to her, giving her own allowance.

"If something… un-natural, unlawful, occurs, will you follow orders from the Commander, no matter what?"

Asuka, with a confused-and-bored expression, said

"What? Why? Are you and Shinji making an open rebellion, or something? – Now her voice was manlier, with her right fist high in the air – We demand freedom and right of speech! **Laugh** Please, as if that baka would ever stand 'THAT' much against his father…"

"You have not answered my question. Would you follow their orders, even if they contained something that it would hurt you intimately?"

Asuka, just turning her head a bit to her, replied in an angered tone

"Yeah, I might not like it, but we're pilots under their command. Our concurrence isn't an issue for us. We follow their orders, and that's it!"

"I see…" Rei's tone now had a margin of sadness. Intrigued, she turned to her, managing to catch, just in time, two deep-magenta pools staring at her. That and a white clothe being raised to her mouth by Rei's right hand. Recognizing the scent of chloroform, she started to moan, in high-pitches, as well as try and force it away from her. However, a few heartbeats past, she felt her own eyelids grow quite heavy, and her consciousness fleeing from this material plane…

---

A few minutes after

The corridor outside the Female Lockers Area

Exiting the Area, Rei spotted Shinji leaning against the wall, wearing his Plug Suit, gazing at her with an expectant look. Rei, with an affected expression, gave Shinji simply a nod. Shinji, hard-pressing his lips, moved away from the wall, approached, and grabbed her shoulders, comfortingly, while staring at her eyes. He then murmured

"Are you ready, Rei?"

Rei, giving him a small smile, grabbed his cheeks with her hands, lowered his head, and gave him a small kiss on his forehead. Then, raising his head at her eye-level, she, slowly, approached his right-side of his neck, and, still somewhat surprising him; gave a long deep inhale of air, with her nose touching his Adam's-apple. Shinji, after blinking rapidly, asked her why she did that. Rei, now openly smiling to him, while looking at his heaving chest, told him that she wanted to memorize his scent, free of the taint of blood…

---

Central Dogma

Pressing a button on the pad, the door swished open, revealing to the two pilots the bridge. Rei gave a few steps, and halted her movement, standing in the middle of the bridge, while Shinji went a bit further, nearing the bridge bunnies. Looking for a second at Aoba, two imperceptible nods were given, from each other, before Shinji went back to the door, along with Rei, heading to the Cages.

Aoba, taking a deep breath silently, turned to Ibuki and said, hopefully in an auspicious manner

"Hey Maya, isn't time for one of your tasks from Dr. Akagi?"

Maya, looking first at him, and then at her wristwatch, scowled lightly, and nodded absently. She rose from her chair, and headed to another door accessing the bridge. Aoba, licking his lips, turned back to his console, and checked the Agenda from NERV personnel, seeing that indeed his piracy had gone undetected, which had 'informed' Ritsuko that, today, her shift would start at 17:00, because of the tests-and-training that had been re-scheduled to five-thirty, instead of four o'clock in the afternoon. Of course, the pilots and the Commanders were the only ones who weren't notified of the 'change' in schedule… Having one last look at Maya's retreating form, he dunked his left hand in his left breeches-pocket, and held the remote control, which would trigger the timers on the devices.

Now looking at Hyuga, and seeing that he was busy with something, he accessed the communications menu, and sent a, previously written, message, untraceable, to several dozens of cell phones and Pads around the globe.

Smirking slightly, he hoped that Commander Ikari would be present when the balls started to roll…

---

Unit's Cage

Shinji looked around, seeing the three units standing against the walls, limbs attached through securing devices. Gazing around the catwalks, he saw a technician with a medium-large metal case, resting at his right side. Needless to say that this man had a bruised eye. Returning his gaze back to Rei, he leaned to her, and murmured

"Best if you take care of Omega, I'll handle Psi, along with a distraction to provide you some cover!"

Rei gave him a quick hug, and departed to her unit, always silent, but with a determined resolve drawn all over her face.

Shinji, biting his lower lip, gave the man, whom was at a considerable distance from him, a gentle nod, and headed to his unit.

Reaching Unit-01, he looked at the nearest camera, knowing that Aoba would take care of providing them some cover with a program.

---

Central Dogma

Hyuga wasn't finding this funny. He was watching the Cages sec-vid (2), realizing that Shinji and Rei were already in position, waiting for the deployment of the Plugs. Turning to Aoba, he asked

"Hey, aren't the tests at 17:30?"

Aoba turned to him, swivelling in his chair, and replied

"Those two must've gotten here earlier for some reason. Maya is doing some tasks. Maybe we should let them in, no?"

Hyuga, uncertain, gave him a nod, and turned back to his console, and informed the available personnel to deploy Unit-00 and 01's Plugs and prepare the EVAs for the trainings. It never occurred to him, however, that, not only Aoba wasn't displaying any real surprise, but he also seemed to know that it was just Shinji and Rei who were there, without Asuka…

---

Unit's Cage

Shinji, securing himself in his seat at the Plug, and assuring that all the Unit's systems were online and ready, he grabbed the controls, opened a private COM channel to Rei, and told her to wait just a bit.

A minute and a half passed, before the Angel Alarms started to blare. Shinji, smirking, directed his attention to the catwalk, where the man with the metal case was, made a nod, causing his Unit to nod as well, and extended his left palm to the catwalk. The man, quickly, grabbed the case with both hands, and threw it, over the railing, to the Unit's hand.

Shinji, clenching his left hand, looked at Rei, and made an upward nod.

---

Central Dogma

Misato quickly entered the bridge, and ran to the bridge bunnies. Assessing that Maya wasn't present; she looked at Hyuga and barked

"REPORT!"

Hyuga, hands and eyes covering all the buttons and screens at his console, replied

"All of our radar stations are picking up a Blue Pattern, but no identifiable or traceable source!"

Turning to Aoba, she said

"Quickly, inform Section-2 to bring the pilots as fast as possible!"

Aoba, turning his head to her, replied

"Ikari and Ayanami are already prepared! They're in their Plugs, waiting for full activation of their EVAs! Pilot Sohryu must still be at home."

"Good, then tell Section-2 to retrieve Asuka, and bring her here, immediately! – Now turned to Hyuga, she said – Quick, call Maya and Ritsuko here, and inform the staff to prep Unit-01 and 00 fully!" to which Hyuga copied with a nod and a, somewhat, admiring smile.

Aoba, seeing that his time had come, pressed again the activation button of the remote, signalling the triggers to activate themselves in three minutes.

---

Two and a half minutes later

Unit's Cage

Shinji, with a private COM channel to Rei, said

"Rei, get ready. Phi's about to go down the drain, as soon as that happens; we have to complete our missions as fast as possible. I'll provide you some cover, staying in Central Dogma getting their attention. You head down to Terminal Dogma and finish off Omega!"

"Understood, brother."

---

In twenty different locations, spread around the globe, serving as outposts and secrets bases for SEELE, there stood different versions of the Magi, all for a common purpose though. However, thanks to Aoba and other rebellious members of the Fight Club, they would be no more. As the timer went out, all twenty SEELE's Magi were terminated, all of them effectively being blown to smithereens, due to several high-packaged explosives placed within the Magi, in their core! And NERV would be no different…

Credits go to Aoba and two more technicians, whom placed three EMP-'bombs', one on each Magi, to cause a massive format of the system, therefore wiping everything on the memory, but not causing any physical damage to them.

And backups had to be terminated as well, which occurred as well, this time credits going to three other members from the Fight Club, whom placed a minor explosive attached to each, with a remote control and timer, these all linked to Aoba's.

So, as one, both NERV and SEELE came to find their Magi clean… But these were just the beginning…

---

Unit 01 Entry's Plug

Seeing that he wasn't receiving any data feedback from the bridge, Shinji assumed that the Magi, Objective Phi, were disposed of. This was just a temporary solution, even with all the backups being terminated as well, because it was just a matter of time until NERV powering the Magi again. The real purpose for this, though, was simply the elimination of all data stored in it. Hopefully, this would slow NERV down a bit, along with SEELE whom had also lost their Magi…

Since that NERV, confused and deceived with a prominent Angel attack, their Units had been powered up before this, thus allowing them free movement with their EVAs. Which was what the two pilots did. Forcing themselves, pulling and pushing the safety-restraints on their Units, the two pilots set themselves free. Shinji, looking at his far-right wall, made a sprint against it, ramming the wall with his Unit, and passing to another area. In a few seconds, he would reach Terminal Dogma, where he would conclude the Psi Objective, contained in his left hand.

Looking back at Rei, from the newly made hole in the wall, he saw that she had ripped open another wall, and passed through its hole, heading directly to the service elevators, which would take her to Terminal Dogma, where the Omega Objective was located…

---

Central Dogma

This was impossible! It couldn't be happening! Misato, still somewhat far from panicking, was looking around herself, seeing all the technicians reporting to her, that their screens were blank, and the system was not responding to anything.

Before this came to happen, she had heard a very low deep-bass sound, emanating from somewhere below, near the Magi. However, now on the railing, looking at the Cores, she didn't saw any damage to them. Suddenly, she heard a male-stoic voice from behind her.

"What is happening?" Turning to it, she saw the Commander approaching the bridge bunnies. Coming to him, she reported

"A few minutes ago, not even five, we received confirmation of a Blue Pattern detected somewhere, from all our radar outposts. We were trying to specify its location, when we lost all communication with the exterior, even among ourselves. Radio-links are functioning, but phones and messengers aren't. We aren't receiving any data-feedback from the Magi at the current time."

The Commander spent a moment looking at her, and then turned to the bunnies.

"Where is Dr. Akagi?" Hyuga was the one who answered him.

"She must be bound to the Geofront. Her shift will start at 17:00."

The Commander, somewhat frowning, replied

"Today her shift began at 8:00, not at 17:00!"

Misato, confused, said

"But… Wasn't she to come at 17:00 to monitor the pilot's virtual training?"

The Commander, eyebrows now lifted a bit, looking as if he was clarified, said

"There isn't any virtual training! – He looked around – And the Vice-Commander?"

Misato, now absolutely confused, was going to tell Hyuga to check with every section for the Vice-Commander, when she now heard a VERY loud sound, of metal being torn. Suddenly, looking at the right-side wall, she saw a purple behemoth stampeding through it, stopping itself in the middle of Central Dogma, turning to them.

_Is it berserk? But, how, if he wasn't attacked or anything? Unless, the Angel has possessed it…_ Normally, she would order Maya to make a deep scan of the EVA, checking for any parasite form, especially one capable of forming an AT-Field. However, her thoughts were interrupted by Shinji's voice from the EVA's outside speaker.

"Father, you're here. Good. Now listen, and listen well! Do you see your precious Magi? Their memory has just been wiped clean, thanks to several of NERV's EMP-explosives. Your plans to create a Third Impact have just been erased, along with all data. And don't even think about retrieving the backups, they've been dealt with too!"

The Commander, clenching and unclenching his gloved right hand, grimaced and shouted to Shinji/Unit-01

"THAT WILL NOT BE—"However, Shinji interrupted his speech

"Enough? Oh, I know about SEELE too, the secret power behind NERV, plotting, scheming, and planning, for over two millennia now, to create a Third Impact, and take God's seat in Heaven! Don't worry; their Magi are out of commission as well!"

The Commander, openly surprised for a blink, before his face returned to his trademark set, replied

"AYANAMI TOLD YOU THIS, DIDN'T SHE?" Shinji, now clearly angered, said

"Oh yes, she told me everything! She told me how YOU created her, by mixing moms, Ikari Yui's DNA, with Lillith's DNA! - Gasps were heard all around the area – But, still, just taking out the Magi would never be enough, so do you know what I know? That we have, not only the Second Angel, crucified in Terminal Dogma, but also we have HIM! - And here, Shinji raised his left hand, opened it, and revealed to everyone that he was holding, in his palm, a medium-large metal case. The Commander, recognizing it, grimaced even more – The First Angel, father of all Angels, Adam! BUT NO MORE! - And now Shinji closed his hand completely, crushing to oblivion the case within. He then opened his hand, and let the very minute remains fall to the dark floor – The Angels always attack Tokyo-3 because of him and Lillith. But not anymore…"

The Commander suddenly turned to Misato, now with panic all over his face.

"WHERE'S REI?" Hyuga was the one who answered him, once more with somewhat bad news.

"I-I just received three confirmations from there, but I hadn't said anything be-because of Shinji. Anyway, Unit-00 is descending rapidly the service corridor heading to Terminal Dogma. She should be reaching the last blast doors in… two minutes."

---

Unit-00 Entry Plug, Terminal Dogma

Rei was watching, in a morbid silence, the impressive figure of Lillith, mother of Mankind. Scowling lightly, she gave several more steps, until standing face-to-belly with the Angel. Carving her hands in the cross, she raised herself, planting her feet in the cross as well, ascending in the cross, halting only when staying face-to-face with her. Spending only a moment gazing at the mask, she mouthed, "I'm sorry for this, mother" before dunking her hands and feet in four holes, made by her ascendance, deeply, allowing the EVA to sustain itself, with no effort, in the cross, and embracing Lillith.

She rises from her seat, approaches the rear of it, and sets the timer of self-destruction for 5 minutes. She then, quickly, jumps to her seat again, and activates the ejection-module of the plug, thus causing the back of her EVA to 'open', and the plug being propelled by emergency rockets, away from the EVA.

Seeing the EVA in a tight hug with Lillith, for just a couple of seconds, she feels the Plug going gradually downward in altitude, and grabbing her seat predicting the imminent hit against the floor of the Area. Sooner than she had wanted, she hears and feels the rumble of the Plug, sliding on the floor. Probably because of her head hitting the seat, or the controls, she starts to lose consciousness…

---

Hearing her name being called repeatedly, she blinks, and opens her eyes slowly. All things blurred, she sees two brown figures, one of them leaning towards her, shaking her shoulder, both calling her name desperately. Rubbing her eyes, she sees two men, one of them with his face seriously bruised, before her mind remembered what she had done before losing consciousness.

Now in a frantic rhythm, she straightens, nods to the two men, who were now relieved, it seemed, and the three of them, in a run, got out of the Plug. She saw that she was on the shore of LCL and, quite the distance away, there was her EVA and Lillith together.

Suddenly, she feels someone pulling her left arm. Turning to the men, she saw that they were anxious to leave the area.

Taking one last rapid look at her half-mother, she sprints, along with the two men, to the nearest door, hoping that they could live to see another day…

---

Central Dogma

The Commander, turning again to Shinji, shouted

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH HER?" Whether he was referring to Rei or Lillith, it was unclear at this time.

"The same thing I did with Adam, father!" Until now, the word 'father' always carried disgust and hate, but, now, it carried mocking.

Several minutes passed in silence, with everybody expecting something, until a very loud explosion was heard, along with a long-and-heavy rumbling of the area. Misato, getting up from the floor, asked Shinji

"WHAT WAS THAT?"

"Lillith wasn't as early in self physical-evolution as Adam. She WAS about the size of an EVA."

Misato, confused, asked again

"But, then how did you get rid of her?"

Shinji, words still confident, replied

"She initiated self-destruct of Unit-00 and evacuated, before it blew up!"

Hyuga, confused, asked Misato

"I don't get it. For a Third Impact, don't they need Adam only?" However, it was Shinji whom answered him

"The Angels yes, they need to make contact with Adam. However, NERV and SEELE had the ultimate goal of initiating our own Third Impact with Lillith, our mother!"

The Commander let himself fall to the floor, sitting on it, with an utterly defeated face. Several moments passed, before Ibuki entered the bridge. She asked, very confused and somewhat panicked

"W-what it going on?" Misato, soberly and intrigued, told her everything that had happened so far. Ibuki, confused, asked

"But… - She then looked at the Commander, whom was still sitting on the floor, gazing at nothing – Then… then Shinji did a good thing… - Now with her spirit, apparently rising, she asked Shinji – THAT'S WHY YOU DIDN'T DESTROY COMPLETELY THE MAGI, ISN'T IT? SO THAT WE CAN STILL DEFEND OURSELVES AGAINST THE ANGELS?"

Misato, intrigued, turned to Unit-01, which replied

"Yes. I don't know if destroying Adam and Lillith will be enough to halt their attacks. That's why Unit's 01 and 02 are still ready to roll."

Misato, now remembering about Asuka, said

"WHAT DID YOU DO WITH ASUKA?"

Shinji, chuckling, replied humoured

"Don't worry about her; she's taking a nap in the locker's zone."

She then saw the Commander rising, resolve and iron-determination were permeating his face.

"NONE OF THIS MATTERS. WE CAN STILL RECREATE LILLITH AND ADAM WITH ANY REMAINS FROM THEM!"

However, Shinji's reply was NOT what he was expecting

"I know, father, however, there's another operation which took place that I still haven't told you. Remember the Dummy Plug program? A digitalisation of Rei's thought patterns, in order to create a perfect machine with no feelings whatsoever? They're gone too, thanks to a little lie I told Lt. Ibuki. You see she was making a task that it wasn't Dr. Akagi whom order her, but me. She, quite simple, really, just pulled the plug from the memory banks of Rei. I placed several explosives there, all around the core and tanks, which Lt. Ibuki activated. It's almost effortless to inform you that all that's its left is a pile of rubble. And now, here you are, with only two EVAs with pilots. And if you, or SEELE, have me executed, then there will be no one to pilot it. So, whether you like it or not, you need ME to defend against the Angels! Asuka, alone, can't do it!"

Ibuki, surprise and horror around her, asked

"BUT WHY ME? WHY COULDN'T YOU DO THAT?"

"Because, Lt. Ibuki, that area is heavily fortified and with several meters of lead, blocking any pirate outside-transmission. I couldn't activate them from here, so I had to do what my father does all the time: lie in order to get what I want! No disrespect meant with this, Lt. Ibuki."

The Commander took off his glasses, and rubbed his face, with his right hand, as if he was exhausted at the end of a day in the office. He then said to Shinji, on a tired tone

"IT DOESN'T END HERE. YOU'VE JUST STALLED EVERYTHING FOR SEELE. IT'S JUST A MATTER OF TIME UNTIL THEY FIND A WAY TO FULFILL THEIR GOALS!"

"And here comes another surprise: I've released all information I had about SEELE, the Second Impact, and the truth behind the EVAs and NERV, to the whole world! As we speak, journals and media-networks are publishing all sorts of articles regarding this madmen's plot for Humanity!"

The Commander, looking at the horned-helm of Unit-01, said

"Then it's all over for us… Now we won't be able to create a Third Impact, not like this…" He then turned around, and headed to the doors. Misato, observing him, was feeling as if she was watching a General whom had surrendered to the enemy, felt… weird. In a way, she felt glad that Mankind had been saved, but she also felt angered that, maybe, she couldn't fulfil her vengeance against the Angels, for what they did to her. She felt happy, though, that Shinji had, in front of her, so to say, destroyed the responsible for her scar in the torso. In the end, she also felt intrigued if whether it had been her father whom had awoken Adam in the first place. Perhaps, she still had to discover the full truth about that too…

Taking one last look at Unit-01, she told the bridge bunnies to call the radar outposts and tell them to keep their vigilance for any Angel, then told Shinji to head back to the Cage, assuring that neither him nor Rei would receive any harm or arrest...

---

TBC

---

1 – Greek alphabet. 'Phi' is the fourth last letter. 'Chi' is the third last. 'Psi' is the second last, while 'Omega' is the final letter.

2 – Security-Video-Feedback – It's something I've seen in several games, though I don't know if it's really used or not, so…

---

AN: There is, here, a very very very small hint in a possible leak and assistance for Shinji still untold to everyone. I've been building it, and I'm sort of surprised no one has yet ventured a guess or asked anything. But, no worries, since that will be done in the epilogue.

Well, just one more chapter, namely the epilogue and this fic will be over and done with. Afterwards, I might (emphasize the 'might', as in a possibility, not a certainty!) revise this and try to improve it a bit, here and there. But, apart such, I will finalize the Angel Wars in a sequel, respectively named, 'Ends up owning you!' (Publicity, publicity, publicity) **Huge sweat-drop** More info about it on the Epilogue…


	11. Epilogue A

Disclaimer: Check the Prologue.

---

AN: Alright, this is it, the Epilogue. Afterwards, I'll be writing the sequel "Ends up owning you!", but first I'm going on vacation, so to speak. In mid-February, the Prologue and First Chapter will be appearing. My brain does need some relaxation (as if my job would do me any good oo').

Due to mood shifts, and personal opinions of mine, I came up with two Epilogues, this and the other, which will be quite darker, where the villain wins and the hero loses. Don't ask me why, it just appeared on my mind… **Ahh** The damnation of the eternal "what if"…

---

This is narrative.

"This is a dialogue."

"THIS IS SHOUTING."

'This is a quote/EMPHASIS made either during a dialogue or narrative.'

_These are thoughts._

**These are mouthed and facial expressions before, during, and after, a dialogue.**

This tells where and when the following happens.

(These will be Author Notes)

---

---

"Hitting bottom is not a weekend retreat. It's not a goddamn seminar. Stop trying to control everything and just let go! Let go!"

-Tyler Durden

Unit's Cages, NERV HQ, Geofront

Shinji, exiting the Plug, looked around and, much to his joy, heard several calls and cheering from NERV personnel.

Smiling, he went to the catwalk, receiving several pats on his back. Turning around, he saw Rei approaching him with a smile on her face. He, after deciding to definitely throw all "normality" to the winds, gave her a strong hug, eliciting a blush from her and boisterous whoops from the male techs.

Drawing himself back, he saw her smiling, and faintly blushing, face, therefore eliciting an honest-joy smile from him. Holding her left hand with his right, he turned and headed towards the doors. Reaching them, he pressed the button on the wall-keypad, opening the doors. On the other side, though, the Vice-Commander was coming their way. Shinji stood motionless, waiting for him, still holding her hand and giving it a small squeeze.

A moment passed. Fuyutski, now standing in front of them, with the open doors serving as a non-visual barrier, spoke stoically

"Pilot Ikari, the Commander wants to speak with you." Fuyutski then turned around, and walked away, into the corridor. Shinji, gulping, gave Rei's hand a final gentle squeeze, and followed him.

---

The Commander's Office

Shinji, now standing as stiff as a statue, in front of his father's desk, faced his excruciating gaze for several minutes. Finally, the Commander straightened in his chair, took out his glasses, and rubbed his eyes with his left, no longer gloved, hand. Hearing an almost-imperceptible sigh from him, Shinji asked, trying to keep his emotions in bay

"Why am I here?"

The Commander, looking at him with a stoic expression, said

"Do you know why I wanted to do all of this, the why of causing the Third Impact?"

Shinji, clenching his right hand, replied

"To place Humanity in God's seat, to force our next evolutionary step!"

The Commander, arching an eyebrow, replied, in a weary tone, as a father who kept repeating the same sermon to his son

"No, Shinji… I did what I did to see Yui again…"

Shinji, frowning, said, now angered

"First you place her soul in Unit-01, now you come with that bullshit?"

Gendo, scowling, replied

"I never agreed with her in being the first to test Unit-01! But I never thought that… that I would lose her…"

Now turning his own gaze downwards, Shinji murmured

"And so I paid the price for your folly."

Gendo, banging his right hand on his desk, replied

"WRONG! I placed Yui in front of you, yes! TO ME, SHE WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU! I LOVED HER… I love her (1)… I… I abandoned you, and ensured that your life would place you in the right mood, so that you wouldn't hesitate to cause Third Impact… So that I could be with her again…"

"And to Hell with everybody else, right? Who cares if you're causing misery and grief big enough to fill the whole world? As long as your plan works, nothing else matters! NOT EVEN YOUR OWN BLOOD!" Shinji, with his soul raging in anger and sorrow, turned to the doors. Gripping their handles strongly, he was going to open them, when he heard

"You don't know yet…"

Shinji, curious, though angered still, asked, without turning to him

"Don't know what?"

"What it feels like to love and be loved… To have someone at night, embracing you in bed, the warmth on another body and soul, comforting yours, with no words or gestures. Just… companionship…"

Shinji, frown still in place, though subsiding just a bit, replied

"Yes, thanks to somebody we both know, I don't know what love is!" Then, he opened the doors, and went, down the corridor, leaving his father's domain in a foul mood. Comparatively, the abyss that separated them now grew larger and wider. By this rhythm, these two, father and son, would never be in peace with each other…

---

Female Locker's Area

Rei entered the area of the lockers, intending on taking a long shower. However, she saw Asuka sit on front of her own locker, emotionally empty, by the looks of her. She heard her voice, as cold as the water in her apartment used to be

"Why?"

Rei, tilting her head to her right said, asked

"Why what?" Seeing Asuka clench her own two hands, she heard her voice, which now carried some more aggressive tones

"Why didn't you ask me to help you? Why didn't you told me about NERV and SEELE? Why didn't you tell me the whole truth about EVA?"

Rei kept a moment in silence, and then he approached her, and sits on her left side. Asuka diverted her own gaze to her for only a fraction of a second, before resuming her empty stare at her locker. Rei, mimicking Asuka's stance, said

"Shinji didn't want to drag you into this, he thought that you would never believe nor accept the truth. According to him, you live to pilot. You believe in what NERV tells you, and more, you depend on it. It was not his duty to aid you in this personal matter."

Asuka, now with mock written all over her face, replied

"Of course, he's too good for me, isn't he? He fights every Saturday just for the kicks of it, so why should he care about me?"

Rei, pivoting her face to Asuka, asked

"Why would you want to be cared about him, of all people? Every time you speak with or about him, your words carry disgust."

Asuka, hearing this from Rei, rises from her seat, and turns to Rei

"AND HE EARNS EVERY OUNCE OF IT!"

Looking from down to up, Rei says

"Then why do you want him to worry about you?"

Asuka, now gritting her teeth, replied

"I DON'T WANT HIS PITY!" After this shout, Asuka turned her back to her.

Rei, wondering for a moment, said, while looking at her own feet, as if in silent contemplation

"You find something within you when you think about him, a feeling akin to friendship, maybe even more… - hearing only a repelling **Pfahh** from Asuka, she continued – In whole, the chain of events so far lead you to want to deepen your feeble relationship with him."

Asuka, turning only her head a bit to Rei, replied

"It's not him who I want!"

Hearing this, Rei smiled. Asuka, seeing such, said, now with a tone carrying some soul-sickness of sorts

"Now you can be happily-ever-after with him. Don't bother to send me a card when your babies are born…"

Rei, keeping her smile, replied

"No, I am happy, in fact, to give you the news that Mr. Ryouji will not end his mission deceased."

Asuka, confused, asked her what she meant with that. Rei, still smiling, answered

"Mr. Ryouji sought to find out the truth, the motives propelling SEELE and NERV. Shinji, though, gave him that, much to his disbelief. As payment for the liberation of such confidential subjects, Shinji asked him for his aid in spreading globally the whole truth about the fanatical goals of SEELE. If Shinji had not done so, Mr. Ryouji would be assassinated, by both SEELE and NERV, for plunging far too much in their secret matters. As it is, he is currently in an unknown location. Shinji has convinced him that, this way, he can keep aiding us safely."

Asuka, hearing this, punches her own locker with her right hand. She then murmurs

"Me, the best pilot, get knocked out by you. Nobody wants my help…"

Rei, now rising, says

"First you must accept our help."

Asuka, now fully turning to her, replied

"I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP, WONDER GIRL!"

Rei, now with a sympathetic face, said

"Yes, you do. Scrupulous individuals, in order to suit their ultimate goals, have manipulated our lives. We must cling together to arise from their dark hole."

"AND WHAT DO I NEED YOUR HELP WITH? THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH ME!"

"Yes, there is. You block all your memories of love, because they remind you of hurtful moments. You keep admitting that you love Mr. Ryouji, but, if you do love him in the first place, is only because he caught you in a weak moment, and you grew convinced that he was the best man for you, only because he loved you, cared about you. The same has happened with Shinji. He caught you in a frail moment, and your heart now seeks his warmth."

Asuka, scowling heavily, replied

"Give me ONE proof of that, Wonder Girl, and I'll sleep with him tonight!"  
Rei simply shook her head, and said

"You do not need a proof from me, but from yourself. Perhaps you should try to be with him, just for one day, and give him the benefit of a doubt. You have nothing to lose any way." Rei, ending her speech, passed by Asuka, whom was now looking down, letting her bangs hide her eyes, though her lips were pressed hard against each other.

Rei entered a shower cubicle, twisted the dial for hot water, and embraced its temporary soothing warmth. From Asuka, she heard another punch, or kick, in a locker and, a minute after, the **Swwissh** from the doors. Grimacing, she hoped only that Shinji would not respond in a bad manner to her during dinner…

---

TBC

---

1 – Note the change in 'love'; it's not a typo, OK?

---

AN: And that's it. Not what I had first planned, but, then again, nothing ever ends like we planned in the first place, right? In a few hours, I'll post the second Epilogue, and, 2-3 months from now, the sequel will come. I gotta get things straight and plot the whole thing first…


	12. Epilogue B

Disclaimer: Check the Prologue.

---

AN: And here it is, the dark Epilogue. In a way, the perfect fusion of Epilogues A and B would somehow be the best ending, due to the mix with Fight Club. But, I'm standing on the edges, with the Happy and Miserable endings completely apart…

---

This is narrative.

"This is a dialogue."

"THIS IS SHOUTING."

'This is a quote/EMPHASIS made either during a dialogue or narrative.'

_These are thoughts._

**These are mouthed and facial expressions before, during, and after, a dialogue.**

This tells where and when the following happens.

(These will be Author Notes)

---

---

"It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything."

-Tyler Durden

Unit's Cage, NERV HQ, Geofront

Shinji, exiting the Plug, looked around and, much to his joy, heard several calls and cheering from NERV personnel.

Smiling, he went to the catwalk, receiving several pats on his back. Turning around, he saw Rei approaching him with a smile on her face. He, after deciding to definitely throw all "normality" to the winds, gave her a strong hug, eliciting a blush from her and boisterous whoops from the male techs.

Now both with a big smile on their faces, they turned and headed to the lockers. However, when reaching the exit-door from the Cages, it opened and, on the other side, were Misato, Fuyutski, and ten heavily armed troops.

Misato was saddened, her eyes casting down, and Fuyutski bore a sober face, as if he was about to be dismissed permanently. Or worse. The Cages were quiet, when Fuyutski spoke, loud and stern

"Ikari Shinji and Ayanami Rei, the two of you are to be taken to the Commander's Office immediately."

Glancing at each other for a moment, they relented silently with a nod.

---

A few minutes later

The Commander's Office

The doors of the office being closed by Misato, now only four individuals stood there: the Commander, sit on his desk, fingers interlocked in front of his face, the Vice-Commander standing upright, on the Commander's right side, and Shinji and Rei in front of his desk.

The Commander, without saying anything, pressed a button on his desk, followed by a rapid push of several buttons on a keypad, which was revealed from within the desk covered by a fake board. Suddenly, all lights were offline, except those on the Commander's desk. A hidden spotlight from the ceiling, which also no longer had the Tree of Sephiroth, was illuminating Shinji and Rei.

Then, one by one, and not in numerical order, twelve monoliths of darkness, emblazoned only with a number and a warning of 'Sound Only', appeared (1). The monolith marked with a '1' spoke, voice clearly falsified by a voice-device

"So, you have rebelled against us, against the better, and only, path of survival for Humanity. Do any of you two bear any grasp of the entire meaning your actions have cost us?"

Shinji, smirking, answered

"Yes, we do!"

Another, the one marked with '6', stated

"Then, perhaps, could you present us your reasons. Enlighten us with your apparent hatred for Mankind!"

Shinji, now sobering, replied

"You wanted to gather all of us, three-and-a-half billion humans, into ONE conscience! And then what? What would be the point in existing, no longer living, then? To view our once-populated cities? We… Damn it, there would be no longer any collectively with individual minds, just a horrible pot with all of our souls mixed together! What was the point then? We wouldn't talk with each other, precisely because there wouldn't be NO INDIVUDUAL OR SEPARATE MINDS FROM EVERYBODY ELSE! If we couldn't interact or communicate, WE wouldn't feel anything! There would be no more sentiments, emotions, moods, aspirations, ambitions, greed, nothing! YOU WANTED TO TURN MANKIND INTO A BEING WITH NO EMOTIONS!" Shinji, chest heaving after his berating upon SEELE and their goals, calmed himself. Again, the monolith number '1' spoke

"Commanders, this will proceed without your presence! You will be briefed after the conclusion of our interview of the two pilots!" Hearing this, the Commander and Vice-Commander headed to a secret backdoor of the office, where they disappeared after passing it. The desk's lights were turned offline. Shinji, gazing back to the number '1' monolith, saw it, suddenly, disappear as well. In its place, there was an old man, with a cyclopean visor covering his eyes. He said, voice no longer filtered and masked

"The two of you acted on the belief that you were making a favour to Mankind, yet you are both preventing it from evolving." His voice now carried disgust.

Shinji, clenching his right fist and scowling, said

"You're just running away from all your problems, all your pains, all that you condemn and regret in your life! Deep down, you don't want to face the reality that if you're unsatisfied with your life, it's your damn fault! Each of us has what we deserve! So you try to find a way to live with no worries, sick of going to bed at night filled with frustrations and self-hate! – Now his voice changed to something with even more disgust than Lorenz's voice – And Asuka called me a coward… AS IF THE TWELVE OF YOU ARE ANY BETTER!"

This caused the SEELE member's to shout back at Shinji, pointing his flaws, mocking his own cowardice. However, Keel was smiling. He banged with his fist on his own desk, causing absolute silence. He then said, voice now carrying a certain admiration

"I would never believe that a fourteen year old kid could plan and go rampant against us. Yet, from you, I'm not so surprised. Unwillingly, Ikari has schemed well your growth. – Now with his smile turning to a smirk, he said – Pity that YOU caused more harm to him than to us! – Now he turned to his right, and dove his right hand behind the desk, probably accessing a drawer. He then pulled a small metal suitcase, which he laid on the top of his desk. He pressed a very long access code on a small keypad of the case, and opened it. Then, he raised it, allowing the two pilots to check its contents. Gasps came out of their mouths, for they were seeing a very small Angel body, labelled 'ADAM'. He continued – As you witness, you have not impeded our attempt to achieve Human Perfection… Each of us possesses a genetic undeveloped copy of Lillith, and I possess as well a complete clone of Adam. You managed only to slow us down. In a year, earlier if possible, we will create Third Impact, and ascend Humanity to a higher position. We are replacing God's throne with ourselves."

Shinji, surprise etched all along his face, looked down and said, both eyes and voice downcast

"Then it was all for nothing… We can't stop you now… We have failed…" His last sentence was murmured, and one could note that a large grief had invaded his soul.

They then heard the Commander's door opening. Both turning to it, they saw a man in a dark suit with a black overcoat enter the office. He approached them, face rid of any emotion. He then dove his hand, calmly, in his inner left side, within the suit, and removed a small handgun and a silencer, from his jacket's right inner pocket. Attaching it to his handgun, he pointed it to the two pilots, eyes reflecting everything they saw.

Rei, with her face never losing her stoic pose, turned to Shinji, grabbed his cheeks with both her hands, raised it until they were staring at each other's eyes, and spoke, for the first time in front of them, voice laden with belief and conviction

"It's only after we've lost everything that we're free to do anything." She then approached his face, and gave him a small kiss, on his left cheek. She then hugged him completely, arms circling him, palms resting against his back, her chin lying against his right shoulder, with her eyes pressed shut.

Shinji, sad beyond measure, hugged her as well, giving her a kiss in her left cheek, and murmuring in her left ear

"I'm sorry that we're both not seeing the sunlight again, Rei… For everything that we went through together, for everything you did for me, know that… that I cherish you so much, Rei…" (2) He felt her tightening her hug, before hearing a very faint bass sound.

He felt her head hit his just for a fraction of a second, before feeling her body go limp, and her hug drop down with something liquid.

He then felt an incredibly hard thing impact on the left side of his skull, throwing him to his right, before losing conscience and lying on the floor, with Rei and tears on his eyes…

Lorenzo Keel, looking at the two bodies resting on the floor, called for his two subordinates, the Commanders of NERV. This was, unfortunately, a serious delay on their agenda, but, overall, SEELE had come out winning with this. Thanks to Ikari's son, the Third Child, they had managed to thwart his plans, and further prevent any possible betrayal, by eradicating the Chamber of Gauf. He gazed at his frozen clone of Adam, and then directed the visor to a folder, which contained explicit data about the 17th Angel, Tabris… Kaworu Nagisa… Now, it would be even easier to introduce him auspiciously in NERV…

---

TBC

---

1 – Well, from what I've seen in the series, I assume that the reunions with SEELE are all made by holographic projections of everybody.

2 – If somebody was expecting the ILY words, then sorry, but that would be WAY too lame, even for me…

---

AN: And here it is the somewhat sappy ending for the fic… Again, don't bother to ask me why I thought about this, it just showed up on my head…


	13. Thanks!

Well, this is just my most warm thanks to everybody who left a review. So…

THANK YOU!! And these go with a special heartfelt note to:

-nicknack: thanks for the support and suggestions, they helped a lot!

-Laser Crusader: It might not seem probable, but actually all the questions you posed in your reviews gave me fresh ideas for plots and jokes. I appreciate such quite a lot!

-Brax the Great: Thanks for pointing me several mistakes of mine in grammar; those are worth a million to me. I really hope to see you again in the sequel.

-Samurai Demon-God Sekikage: sorry for not pairing Shinji with Asuka, I didn't felt that it would be a good thing here… (Note the 'here', because in the sequel pairings will show up, I can tell you that much ;-) (Though I won't spoil by telling Shinjix(…), mostly because not even I know yet…)).

Seriously, to everybody who's left a review, thank you. I hope that everybody has appreciated this fic of mine.

The sequel, 'Ends up owning you!', will separate itself a bit from the Fight Club. There will be influences, we'll see Shinji and company spend some nights with the guys, but it will go on his own, so to speak. In it, we will see Shinji beat the sh1t out of SEELE (WHAT? Nobody expected them to be defeated this easily, right?!) and the rest of the Angels. I already have some ideas for Tabris, and it won't go as we see in the series. Suffice to say, that Shinji won't be depressed after clenching his EVA's right hand **Evil Grin** I promise that, in February, perhaps sooner though unlikely, I'll post the Prologue and First Chapter.

Well, that's everything. Again, thanks everybody, for spending a moment of your time and patience submitting a review…

… Of course, if you wish to keep reviewing, please, do not hesitate to do so :)


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